China-Central Asia Monitor: Nov. 24-30, 2025. 

Central Asia

China’s trade with Central Asian states grew significantly during the first 10 months of 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, according to Chinese government statistics. 

Trade turnover with Kyrgyzstan saw the largest spike, rising from $17.4bn to $23.6bn. What also makes Kyrgyzstan noteworthy is that, according to Kyrgyz government statistics, the nation’s GDP in the first 10 months of 2025 amounted to about $16.3bn, meaning that trade with China alone was larger than all the goods and services produced in Kyrgyzstan so far this year. The wide discrepancy in data can be explained by large-scale smuggling and sanctions-busting operations, where billions of dollars’ worth of goods cross the border from China to Kyrgyzstan, without being registered in Kyrgyz official statistics.

Meanwhile, the number for Kazakhstan grew from $36.5bn to $39.8bn; Uzbekistan from $11.1bn to $12.9bn; and Tajikistan from $3.3bn to $3.5bn, according to Chinese official data.

Turkmenistan is a regional outlier in terms of overall trade turnover: its trade with China shrank from $8.9bn to $8.3bn during the first 10 months of 2025, compared with the previous year. But the good news for Turkmenistan is that it remains the only Central Asian state with a positive balance of trade with the PRC: China imported over $8.1bn worth of goods from Turkmenistan, while exports were limited to $784mn. The PRC’s trade with other Central Asian countries is lopsided in China’s favour.

Meanwhile, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey agreed to coordinate measures to streamline rail transit along the southern branch of the Middle Corridor by “applying unified and competitive tariffs, shortening travel times for container trains, cutting auxiliary and customs-related costs and upgrading rail infrastructure across the corridor,” the Tehran Times reported. This agreement, if fully implemented, could redirect a large portion of transit volume through Iran.

Railway officials convened the inaugural meeting of the Eurasian Transport Route Association in Baku in late November, the Trend news agency reported.   Representatives from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated. The Eurasian Transport Route is a southern branch of the Middle Corridor, connecting China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. Shipments began in November from the Chinese city of Kashgar to Azerbaijan via the southern branch.

Kazakhstan

A new, $300mn seaport will be constructed in Aktau, a city on the Caspian Sea, with China’s Zhongyun International confirmed as the strategic partner, Mangistau Region Governor Nurdaulet Kilybay announced. Aktau is a major hub of the Middle Corridor. 

A delegation from the North Kazakhstan Region travelled to China to strengthen economic, scientific and technical ties with Chinese corporations. The visit yielded seven strategic memoranda of cooperation, including for scientific, educational and business cooperation in the field of agriculture, as well as for a wind energy project and a cardboard production factory.

Kazakhstan is working with China to amend the intergovernmental agreement on the Khorgos dry port, which straddles the two nations’ shared border. According to Kazakh Deputy Minister of Industry Iran Sharkhan, the planned changes will provide for “the expansion of the territory, the opening of an additional checkpoint, and the transition to round-the-clock operations.” Khorgos has experienced logistical problems since its establishment in 2012, but during the first half of 2025, it facilitated 22.3mn tonnes of cargo, the Kazinform news agency reported.

The Chinese Embassy in Astana hosted a seminar in late November in conjunction with UN Women in Kazakhstan aimed at enhancing cooperation on the promotion of gender equality.

Kyrgyzstan

Anti-Chinese sentiment has experienced a spike in recent weeks following a brawl between Chinese and Kyrgyz construction workers in mid-November. A court has ordered 16 individuals involved in the incident, including Chinese citizens, to remain in custody until January 15, pending further investigation. Helping to fuel tension is a widespread public perception that Chinese-run infrastructure projects create few jobs for Kyrgyz citizens, as most workers involved are brought in from China. Kyrgyz officials have sought to tamp down public anger. Kamchybek Tashiyev, the head of Kyrgyzstan’s powerful State Committee for National Security, disputed the notion of a “Chinese invasion” in comments in late November, insisting that the Chinese guest workers were subject to strict state regulation. He added that the Chinese infrastructure projects, including a railway connecting China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, would generate significant revenue for the country, going on to admit that Chinese workers possessed skills that Kyrgyz workers lacked. “We must admit that our citizens are not yet ready to build very high-quality buildings in a short period of time,” he said, going on to assure that “Chinese citizens will work, build and leave.”

In a separate development, a Chinese citizen, the director of a company involved in mining operations at Kyrgyzstan’s Dolpran gold field, was arrested for alleged environmental violations, the 24.kg news service reported.

Tajikistan

As reported earlier by Eurasianet, the Tajik government is denying a report it is seeking Russia’s help to contain raids by Islamic militants operating out of Afghanistan. Two recent attacks have left five Chinese nationals working in Tajik border areas dead. The Reuters news agency reported December 2 that Tajik officials were negotiating with their Russian counterparts on mounting joint patrols along the almost 850-mile-long (1,368-kilometre-long) frontier with Afghanistan, under the auspices of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). The following day the Tajik Foreign Ministry assailed the Reuters report, asserting it “does not correspond to reality.” 

Uzbekistan 

An Uzbek delegation led by Minister of Internal Affairs Aziz Tashpulatov visited China “with the aim of studying advanced Chinese experience” concerning “public order and security.” Uzbek officials have expressed interest in adopting technologies developed by Beijing to build what many observers call a digital police state.   

Uzbekistan’s space agency Uzcosmos has contracted Chinese space technology company Star.Vision to launch a satellite in 2026 that will be used by Uzbekistan to monitor crops and climate conditions.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Uzbekistan skyrocketed to nearly 218,000 during the first 10 months of 2025, up from about 58,000 in the same period of 2024, according to Uzbek official statistics. Uzbekistan and China introduced mutual visa-free travel for up to 30 days starting in June.

The first cargo flight between China’s Wenzhou and Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent took place on November 24. The flight left Wenzhou Longwan International Airport carrying 50 tonnes of goods linked to cross-border e-commerce. 

Turkmenistan

Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in late November ratified the Treaty on Eternal Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship, and Cooperation signed by China and the five Central Asian states during last summer’s second China-Central Asia summit in Astana. The treaty provides a framework for deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation among signatory states.

This article first appeared on Eurasianet here.