The Tarbagatay Border Economic Cooperative Zone is located in the Ili Kazakh autonomous prefecture, which was set up in 1992 with the approval of the State Council.
The cooperative zone is eight kilometers away from the national first-class Buktu port and has a planned area of 6.5 square kilometers. It has been divided into six major functions, including the China- Kazakhstan green agriculture and sideline products exchange market, export processing area, high-tech area, commercial and trade area and storage and resident area. The port highway runs across the cooperative zone, which incorporates the city, cooperative zone and port into an overall economic development pattern.