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Chinese analysts describe the growth in trade and economic cooperation with Central Asia as a breakthrough, noting that mutual trade turnover has surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time.
Trade between China and the region has expanded steadily for five consecutive years. In 2021, total turnover stood at just over $49.5 billion, meaning the volume of trade in goods and services has more than doubled since then, The Caspian Post reports, citing foreign media.
Over the same period, Central Asia’s share in China’s total foreign trade rose from 0.8% to 1.5%.
Several factors have contributed to this positive trend, including the expansion of cross-border e-commerce, the development of warehouse and logistics infrastructure, and growing cooperation in long-distance payment systems.
A key role has also been played by the China-Central Asia cooperation platform for unimpeded trade, which integrates trade collaboration with industrial cooperation and links between production and education.
Xinhua further notes that China is now one of the largest investors in Central Asian economies, with total investments exceeding $50 billion. Major infrastructure projects are advancing, including the strategic China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and other transport initiatives.
Data from the General Administration of Customs of China show that Kazakhstan was China’s largest trading partner in Central Asia in 2025, with trade turnover exceeding $48.6 billion. Kyrgyzstan followed with approximately $27.2 billion. Trade with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan reached $16.2 billion and $10 billion respectively, while Tajikistan recorded about $4.3 billion.
At the same time, analysts note discrepancies between Chinese and Central Asian statistics. For instance, Uzbekistan’s National Statistics Committee reported mutual trade with China at $17.2 billion last year-around $1 billion higher than the figure cited by Chinese sources.
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