A zero-tax trade center is expected to open soon on the border between China and Kazakhstan, reported Saturday's China Daily.

Dai Gongxing, deputy chairman of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying that the center will come into operation soon in the region's border town of Korgas.

Covering about 4.63 square kilometers, the China-Kazakhstan Korgas International Border Cooperation Center will help promote economic and trade ties between the two countries and benefit others in the region, said Dai.

China and Kazakhstan are two of six members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which will see the six members' foreign ministers meet in Shanghai on Monday.

"All the deals done in the center will be free of tax," said Dai, who did not give the exact date of the center's opening.

The center takes up 1.2 square kilometers in China and 3.43 square kilometers in Kazakhstan.

Near the center, China has constructed an industrial zone to produce products for trade.

Citizens of China, Kazakhstan and other countries, and commodities and vehicles are free to cross the border within the zone.

The free trade zone was arranged by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Kazakhstan counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in a joint declaration last July.

Source: China Daily