[5] P. kansuensis is being investigated as a source for rootstocks and for crop improvement due to its resistance to multiple diseases, to drought, and to frost.

[6][7] It is unaffected by peach mosaic virus,[8] resistant to the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita,[9] and tolerates winter temperatures down to −35 °C (−31 °F).

[5] In China it is used as a rootstock for cultivated peaches and almonds, and sometimes grown as an ornamental for its profuse shell-pink flowers which blossom in early spring.

[13] P. kansuensis is a ruderal species and is used in the process of returning farmland to forest, since it can provide some income to farmers during the transition.

[14] Its white-fleshed fruit is small, relatively flavorless, and is not generally considered salable, although some people cultivate and eat them locally.