Translated with AI
Since the first China-Central Asia Summit was held in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province in May 2023, fruitful results have been achieved in various areas of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries, and a community with a shared future between China and Central Asia has begun to take shape at an accelerated pace.
TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION FOR THE SAKE OF COMMON PROSPERITY
Kazakh flour and biscuits, Kyrgyz honey, Turkmen candies… In the store of Xi'an Aiju Grain and Oilseeds Company, various goods from Central Asia attract the attention of customers.
"Most of these food products from Central Asia 'arrived' here on China-Europe freight trains. These goods account for more than 40 percent of our company's sales," said Liu Dongmeng, deputy general director of Aiju.
Today, the city of Xi'an has long been not only the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, but also one of the busiest transport hubs for modern "steel camel caravans."
According to data from the Changba International Dry Port in Xi'an, by the end of 2024, more than 76,000 standard containers (20-foot equivalent, TEU) were shipped from Xi'an to Central Asia as part of China-Europe international railway freight transportation, which is 47.6 percent more than a year earlier.
"In 2015, our company began to establish a base for processing agricultural products in Kazakhstan, and with the help of China-Europe trains, began to deliver goods from Central Asia to China," Liu Dongmeng said, adding that after the 1st China-Central Asia Summit, the level of awareness of Central Asian countries among Xi'an residents has increased significantly, which has contributed to the sales of high-quality goods from the Central Asian region.
According to the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China, in 2024, trade turnover between China and Central Asian countries amounted to US$94.8 billion, which is US$5.4 billion more than the previous year.
"China is the most important investment and trade partner of the Central Asian countries," said Sun Weidong, Secretary General of the China-Central Asia format.
According to him, within the framework of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", China and the Central Asian countries, by strengthening the alignment of their development strategies, carry out comprehensive cooperation based on the principle of mutual benefit, while cooperation in such areas as digital trade and cross-border transportation is developing dynamically.
As one of the important achievements of the China-Central Asia Summit, Kazakhstan's logistics center in Xi'an was officially put into operation in February 2024. By the end of May this year, it had already processed more than 180 thousand tons of cargo.
This center with a total area of about 6.67 hectares and a design capacity of more than 655 thousand standard containers per year significantly increases the efficiency of sending trains from Xi'an to Central Asia. Currently, the center serves as a trade and logistics collection and distribution center for Kazakhstan in China.
"Thanks to this center, goods from Kazakhstan after consolidation in Xi'an can directly go to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region /South China/, and then end up in the markets of Southeast Asian countries, which has opened an important international trade corridor for Central Asian countries," said Darkhan Yesengulov, deputy sales manager at China-Kazakhstan (Xi'an) Trade and Logistics Co., Ltd.
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION IN THE COURSE OF "GREEN DEVELOPMENT"
In recent years, as practical cooperation between China and Central Asia deepens, high-level planning for bilateral green and low-carbon cooperation has been improved.
Following the first China-Central Asia summit, a list of agreements and initiatives was published. Among them is "Carrying out China-Central Asia green and low-carbon development activities to deepen cooperation in green development and combating climate change."
The Turgusun hydroelectric power station, which was put into operation in July 2021, is the first key hydropower project implemented under the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" between Kazakhstan and China. After its completion, it was able to compensate for half of the electricity deficit in the Altay region of East Kazakhstan, thereby effectively alleviating the power shortage in the region.
"During the construction of the hydroelectric power station, more than 200 jobs were created for local residents. This hydroelectric power station showed the world that through technical cooperation and exchange of experience, we can achieve mutually beneficial results in the economy, society and ecology," said Asset Maksut, director of Turgusun-1 and Turgusun-2 LLP.
The prospects for cooperation between China and Central Asia in the field of electric vehicles are also very broad. Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers operate in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
"Electric cars from China are more popular in Central Asian countries. Alternative energy is a new area of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries," said Ma Bin, a research fellow at the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies at Fudan University.
According to him, China and Central Asian countries jointly advocate the concept of green, low-carbon, circular and sustainable development. These concepts determine the direction of countries' efforts in the energy and technology sectors, and also lay the foundation for further cooperation.
Ecologist, board member of the Green Alliance of Kyrgyzstan Anara Sultangazieva believes that in the context of global environmental problems and climate change, countries share a common concept of "green development" in order to mitigate their consequences. "Especially in the field of agricultural development in order to ensure food security in the context of water shortages in the countries of Central Asia."
HUMANITARIAN EXCHANGES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
China and Central Asian countries are actively developing cooperation in tourism, joint archaeological research, educational exchanges, etc., which strengthens the social foundations and popular support base for cooperation.
China has now become one of the main study destinations for students from Central Asian countries. With its rich educational and scientific resources, Xi'an has become one of the popular cities for students from this region.
According to the data, the Xi'an government has established a program to train students from five Central Asian countries, and has successfully enrolled 450 students from these countries by 2024.
"Chinese culture has a deep influence on the Central Asian region, and the unique charm of Central Asian cultures also greatly attracts Chinese people," said Dovraniz Nurmammedov from Turkmenistan, who is studying archeology at Northwest University of China.
According to the young man, mutual cultural attraction is a solid foundation for building a community of shared destiny between China and Central Asia.
"China's cooperation with Central Asian countries in all areas is rapidly deepening and developing. The youth of our countries are living in a "golden age", they have bright prospects and broad opportunities for development," Sun Weidong noted.
Vice-Rector for International Relations of the Tajik Technical University named after Academician M. Osimi Rauf Jurakhonzoda noted that in recent years there has been a positive trend in cultural and humanitarian exchanges between China and Tajikistan.
A striking example of this, according to him, is the launch in Tajikistan of the first “Luban Workshop” in Central Asia, aimed at training engineering personnel for the industrialization and modernization of the country.
"We plan to introduce new formats of cooperation with Chinese universities. This is not only a contribution to the development of education, but also strengthening the friendship between our peoples," added R. Jurakhonzoda.
On June 7, the first China-Central Asia international tourist train returned to Xi'an. The train with more than 200 passengers departed from Xi'an on May 29 for Almaty, Kazakhstan. It left China via the Khorgos railway checkpoint in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region /Northwest China/.
Let us recall that in May 2023, China and Kazakhstan signed an intergovernmental agreement on mutual exemption from visa requirements, which officially entered into force in November of the same year. 2024 was the Year of Kazakhstan Tourism in China, and 2025 has been declared the Year of China Tourism in Kazakhstan.
According to Li Jiang, deputy head of Horgos Customs, the launch of the above-mentioned international tourist train has laid a new foundation for deepening connectivity and promoting people-to-people exchanges between China and Central Asian countries.
In addition, on June 1, 2025, the Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on mutual exemption from visa requirements entered into force.
"Undoubtedly, this will contribute to the development of the tourism sector and increase the tourist flow," said the Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in China Saidkamol Agzamkhodjaev, adding that Uzbekistan intends to increase the number of Chinese tourists visiting Uzbekistan annually to 1 million people.
"As a 'lubricant' for the development of China's relations with Central Asian countries, humanitarian exchanges contribute to their sustainable and healthy development," Ma Bin emphasized.
Sun Weidong noted that China's relations with Central Asian countries will develop to a higher level, and their cooperation will expand to broader areas, which will contribute to the deep and thorough advancement of building a community with a shared future for China and Central Asia.
Author: Cheng Xiao, Fu Ruixia, Zheng Yu, Jiang Yulin, Wei Mengjia
