Central Asia

A Chinese government regulatory agency has issued draft guidelines for the automotive industry that are expected to increase the cost of Chinese autos imported by Central Asian states, according to Kazakhstan’s Kursiv news outlet.

The guidelines are designed to “regulate price behaviour in the automotive industry,” according to a statement issued by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation.

Major Chinese automakers, including BYD, Great Wall Motor Corp., and XPeng have been battling for market share in Central Asia by offering steep discounts to buyers, as well as other incentives. The sale price for purchasers of some models, in some instances, has been below the manufacturing cost. The proposed Chinese government rules seek to prohibit such practices. Export dumping means that many auto dealers in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states have struggled to turn a profit.

“Chinese cars may no longer be sold for less than their production or purchase cost (with the exception of clearing out old stock),” according to the Kursiv report. “All prices and service fees must be transparent, and delivery times must be fixed in the contract.”

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway project, meanwhile, has secured a $2.3bn loan. A credit agreement with a 35-year term was signed in mid-December by a syndicate of Chinese government banks and the joint venture entity established by the three countries to build and then operate the $4.7bn railroad. The route is projected to become operational as soon as 2030.

The China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Demonstration Zone for Local Economic and Trade Cooperation hosted a roundtable with representatives of SCO member states. The meeting resulted in several MoUs, including one with all SCO states, as well as bilateral deals, involving Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The SCO includes every Central Asian state, except Turkmenistan. 

Kazakhstan 

China has long harboured aspirations of seeing the yuan challenge the US dollar as the global reserve currency. Reuters has reported China is now aggressively offering low-cost yuan-denominated loans in an effort to boost the Chinese currency’s popularity among borrowers. Many Kazakh media outlets have published articles claiming that Kazakhstan is a primary beneficiary of the borrowing frenzy, and that Astana is moving away from the US dollar and switching to yuan-denominated loans (it is worth noting, the outlet that started the wave of publications has gained a reputation for publishing China-friendly content).

The latest Kazakh National Bank data paints a very different picture: two-thirds of Kazakhstan’s debt of just under $173bn is denominated in US dollars, while renminbi-denominated loans total an equivalent of $2bn (or about 1% of the overall total).

The Kazakh government did announce plans to raise another $2bn in renminbi debt in 2025-2028, but even if it follows through, the share of yuan-denominated borrowing will still comprise just a sliver of the $350bn pie of renminbi credit that China has extended worldwide.

Russia is striving to get the stalled Power of Siberia 2 (PS-2) natural gas pipeline back on track, with Russian officials purportedly exploring the possibility of re-routing the pipeline via Kazakhstan instead Mongolia.

In comments published by the Kazakh Oil & Gas Association, the Kazakh energy minister, Yerlan Akkenzhenov, indicated that in purely economic terms, such an arrangement would be attractive for Kazakhstan. But he declined to comment on political factors that could potentially impede a deal. The proposal floated by Russia envisions a pipeline capable of transporting 35bn cubic metres (bcm) of gas annually from Russia to China, while delivering 10 bcm to Kazakhstan. The original plan for PS-2 called for an annual capacity of 50 bcm.

The governor of Russia’s Omsk region has proposed developing transport and logistics infrastructure to create a Russia-Kazakhstan-China corridor with access to the Northern Sea Route, reports Russia’s Interfax news agency. By utilizing the Irtysh and Ob rivers, Russia, Central Asia and China would become connected via a “river-sea” system complementing land routes. However, according to the governor, lower water levels and antiquated infrastructure currently limit cargo traffic on the Irtysh River to about 400,000 tonnes, down from approximately 13mn tonns during the Soviet era. Increasing traffic on the river would require major infrastructure investment and reconstruction.

China has surpassed Uzbekistan to become the largest supplier of fruit and vegetables to Kazakhstan, according to Tradereport.kz. During the first three quarters of 2025, imports from China increased by 39% to $181.7mn compared with the same period in 2024. By comparison, shipments from Uzbekistan decreased by 12% to $128.6mn over the same timeframe.

Free economic zones in China and Kazakhstan – Ganyuanpu TEDZ and Aktobe SEZ – have signed an agreement to create a joint platform to promote bilateral trade, investment, industrial development and expertise exchanges, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. 

China’s Nonferrous Mining Corp. Ltd. is buying a controlling stake in Kazakhstan’s SM Minerals, a mining company focused on copper and cobalt, both critical minerals. The $89mn deal is expected to facilitate the Chinese entity’s expansion into Central Asia.

A potential $15bn mega-deal initiated by China’s Xinfa Group for an aluminium plant in Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar Region remains stuck in the “exploratory” stage, according to the province’s governor. The deal was first announced in April 2025, but has not closed as the sides apparently continue to wrangle about purchase details.

Kazakhstan’s Ualikhanov University and Satbayev University reached an agreement with China’s Dalian Polytechnic University to launch joint dual-degree programmes in 2026 covering such areas as engineering and the food industry. Ualikhanov University is also exploring joint dual-degree programmes with Beijing University.

Kazakhstan is preparing to gift China 400 saigas in 2026, and another 1,100 in 2027, Time.kz writes citing Kazakhstan’s minister of ecology and natural resources. Saigas became locally extinct in China about 75 years ago, but Beijing wants to reintroduce the species.

Uzbekistan 

China appears intent on expanding high-level contacts, evidently striving to exert influence on the direction of Uzbekistan’s economic growth agenda. Representatives of Uzbekistan’s Center for Economic Research and Reforms – a think tank operating under the auspices of the presidential administration, providing research and policy advice to top officials – met with a delegation of China’s Counsellors’ Office of the State Council, an entity that provides the Chinese government with analysis and policy recommendations. Officials from the two entities agreed to expand cooperation, conduct joint research and exchange data. In addition, the Center for Foreign Policy Studies and International Initiatives, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry internal think tank, arranged for the visiting Chinese delegation to meet with in-house think tanks of other Uzbek ministries and government agencies. Those meetings yielded additional cooperation agreements. In late 2025, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade and China’s National Development and Reform Commission launched a joint programme under which Uzbekistan can copy China’s blueprints for economic reforms and industrial development. 

Uzbekistan’s Senate ratified an agreement to establish a permanent secretariat for the C5 + China cooperation platform. The parliament’s lower house ratified the agreement in November. 

Officials from Uzbekistan’s Namangan, Syrdarya and Ferghana regions held exploratory trade talks with Chinese entities. The Namangan region was the only one to report tangible deliverables, having secured a $43mn renewable energy deal with China’s Sinoma Hefei Cement Research & Design Institute Corporation Ltd. The project aims to produce 60 megawatts of electricity per year, covering about 80% of the Namangan Cement Plant’s power needs. Namangan officials also signed an MoU with China’s Hangzhou Tourism Industry Association to boost tourism and develop joint projects. 

Uzbek authorities have organised “Travel to Uzbekistan” promotional road shows in China’s Hangzhou and Suzhou Provinces. The fairs promote the Namangan, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya and Tashkent regions as tourism destinations.  The number of Chinese tourists visiting Uzbekistan nearly quadrupled in 2025. 

The Chinese automaker Geely has introduced eight new models in the Uzbek market, including three electricity-powered cars.

Meanwhile, 1,186 Uzbek citizens went to study at Chinese higher education institutions during the first 10 months of 2025, ranking the PRC in the Top 10 destination for Uzbek students, according to Uzbek government statistics. The official data shows China ahead of the United States and United Kingdom combined (318 and 839 students respectively) in hosting students. But the Chinese total still lags far behind the 5,863 Uzbeks that left to study in Russia.

Kyrgyzstan

An analytical piece on Kyrgyzstan’s economy published by Bloomberg characterises the Central Asian state as a “budding new tiger economy.” The piece touted Kyrgyzstan’s GDP growth and active participation in regional and global trade flows. 

Kyrgyzstan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry approved a measure to send new representatives abroad, including three to China. Notably, the three heading to the PRC are not going to Beijing, but rather to Shanxi, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces, signalling that the Chamber is widening its reach. The Chamber also signed a deal with China’s Tsinghua University to open a vocational training centre in Bishkek to train personnel for “the constantly growing number of Chinese companies” working in Kyrgyzstan, as well as for local companies, the Chamber’s vice president told vb.kg. 

Tajikistan 

China’s embassy in Tajikistan is using trees as the centrepiece of an image-crafting initiative in Tajikistan. In conjunction with the Tajik government’s Forestry Agency, the embassy held a tree-planting event in the capital Dushanbe. The official Tajik news agency Khovar characterised the event as a “vivid example of the implementation of the consensus reached between the heads of the two states, and a clear illustration of how both countries are moving in the same direction and working hand in hand towards ‘green’ development.” At the ceremony, China’s envoy, Guo Zhijun, said Beijing is “always ready” to provide assistance to Dushanbe for environmental protection measures. 

Automobile exports through the Karasu border crossing (Kulma Pass) at the Tajik-Chinese border reached a record of 20,000 vehicles in 2025, according to Xinhua.

The Tajik University of Technology signed agreements with China’s Shanxi Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and Tongji University for “academic exchange, joint projects and cooperation in new technologies,” the official state news agency Khovar reported. Meanwhile, Tajik students participating in a Chinese-language workshop, funded by the Tajik-Sino Mining Company, reported significant progress in their Chinese-language skills and cultural understanding after three months of study, Asia-Plus writes. 

Turkmenistan

Two female students from Turkmenistan’s State Energy Institute received second-place prizes at the 6th International Engineering Mechanics Contest, organised by Hohai University in Nanjing.

This article first appeared on Eurasianet here.