China Expands Its Central Asian Footprint Through Aviation, Energy, and Trade

China and Central Asia are acting fast to expand air links. Chinese and Central Asian aviation officials gathered in Tashkent on November 3-5 for a Working Group session under the C5+1 format to improve implementation of existing agreements and review expansion plans. During the meeting, Kazakhstan agreed to raise permitted weekly flights from 150 to 180 and add routes to Chengdu and Kashgar. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, agreed to increase the number of weekly flights to China from 100 to 114.Uzbekistan also proposed establishing new routes connecting Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and expanding weekly service between the two countries’ major cities, Tashkent, Almaty and Astana. Ahead of the conference, Air Astana and China Southern Airlines signed a strategic partnership agreement. At the signing ceremony, Kazakhstan’s vice minister of transport said that flights between Kazakhstan and China had increased 52 percent year-on-year. Underscoring an ambition to become Central Asia’s aviation hub for Europe-China traffic, Astana announced that it is working on a 25-year civil aviation master plan with the International Civil Aviation Organization. Work is progressing across Kazakhstan on modernizing airports in Almaty and Urzhar, in Kazakhstan near the Chinese border, constructing a second runway in Shymkent and completing new regional airports in Zaisan, Katonkaragay, and Kendirli. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are trying to keep pace with rising air traffic. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon ratified a five-year National Civil Aviation Safety Program running until 2031 that covers international air traffic growth, infrastructure modernization, and security preparedness; Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhamedov endorsed measures to strengthen aviation safety. Kazakhstan On the sidelines of the Second Tien Shan Forum on Economic Cooperation in Central Asia, Kazakhstan and China discussed establishing a Kazakh-Chinese direct investment fund with initial capitalization of up to $200 million. Kazakh officials proposed consolidating existing and emerging financial mechanisms into a single Kazakh-Chinese project-financing and insurance window. Under the plan, several pilot projects would be selected to test the mechanism. If realized, the fund and single-window financing system would give Kazakhstan a more streamlined method of accessing Chinese capital and expand the use of the yuan in bilateral project finance.At the China International Import Expo, Kazakh manufacturers signed agreements worth approximately $100 million. Details of the agreements and manufacturers involved were not disclosed. Kazatomprom CEO Meirzhan Yussupov told President Kassym-Jomar Tokayev that the company secured new natural uranium supply agreements with major utilities in India and China. These deals reinforce China’s position as the main buyer of Kazakh uranium while signaling diversification toward India.Negotiations are ongoing on building Kazakhstan’s second nuclear power plant nearly 18 months after Astana announced the selection of China’s National Nuclear Corporation as the preferred contractor. Kazakh Energy Ministry representatives have not specified what the holdup is. The delay leaves open the possibility that Astana could opt for the construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) that have been pitched by the United States or at least bring SMRs into Kazakhstan’s power-generating mix.Kazakhstan is preparing to join a test of digital documentation for freight shipments between China and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The first digitally documented shipments covering coal, fertilizers, and consumer goods have begun moving through the Grodekovo-Suifenhe border crossing in Northeast China and Russia’s Far East. The Eurasian Economic Commission’s trade representative said documents authorizing similar shipments involving Kazakhstan could soon be ready for signature. Separately, Kazakhstan is developing a centralized, data-driven fiscal system that uses big data, cross-checking across systems, and AI to strengthen tax collection, price control and spending oversight. These efforts align Kazakhstan with China’s push for digital Belt and Road trade. Such a system would also help cement Astana’s role as China’s primary gateway to the EAEU. In his address to the nation, President Tokayev said the Bakhty-Ayagoz railway line is expected to launch in 2027. The line is expected to carry 20 million tons of freight annually, expanding Kazakhstan’s access to the Chinese market, while attracting additional transit traffic.KyrgyzstanChina’s Ganfeng Lithium Group and the Kyrgyz National Investment Agency signed a memorandum of understanding covering mining-sector cooperation in Kyrgyzstan. The announcement offered no details on specific deposits, investment amounts or implementation timetable. Ganfeng is the world’s largest producer of lithium, which is classified as a critical material by the United States and other major global economies. Kyrgyzstan’s Eldik Bank and the Xinjiang branch of the Export-Import Bank of China signed a cooperation agreement during the Tian Shan Forum in Almaty. The agreement aims to attract long-term financing for infrastructure, transport and technology projects, including potential credit lines, leasing arrangements, trade finance and cross-border settlements. No specific loans, financing amounts or projects were announced.Kyrgyzstan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the China-CentralAsia TechnologyTransfer Centersigned an MoU to promote technology transfers, joint projects, specialist training and the development of technology parks in Kyrgyzstan. Details of the memo were not immediately disclosed.TajikistanTajikistan’s Ministry of Transport announced that it signed a construction agreement with Chinese contractor Nanjing Communication Engineering Company Ltd for reconstruction of the 54.1-kilometer Baljuvon-Sari Khosor road in Khatlon Province. The project includes 10 bridges and 121 drainage culverts and is financed through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which lists a sovereign loan of up to €49.2 million. On November 5, the Asia-Plus news agency reported that preliminary construction work was underway at 15 locations, involving 115 workers, including 40 Chinese nationals. The EBRD financing represents funding for the overall project, not the disclosed value of the Chinese contractor’s agreement, which was not specified.Tajikistan and China also approved the findings of the feasibility study for a 90-kilometer stretch of the Murghab-Kulma highway. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, and will be funded by a Chinese grant, Caravan Info reports citing Tajikistan’s Ministry of Transport.TurkmenistanTurkmenistan’s Ministry of Industry and Construction Production and Chinese company Sany International Development Ltd. signed a memorandum of cooperation during an industry and energy conference in Ashgabat. A Ministry of Energy representative signed a separate memorandum with China’s TBEA Shenyang Transformer Group on energy-sector cooperation. The announcement did not specify investment amounts, implementation timetable or other details. At a November 6-7 business forum in Shanghai, a Turkmen government-linked company, Ojar Aziya, sought funding from China for several projects, including a highway connecting Sarakhs, Mary and Serkhetabat and a logistics complex in Afghanistan’s Turgundi. The highway project has been on the drawing board since 2024. Beijing has given no sign that it is willing to finance either project.Uzbekistan Uzbekistan’s Minister of Construction met with the leadership of China State Construction International Corporation (CSCEC), a state-owned construction and engineering group. CSCEC has implemented several major projects in Uzbekistan, and the meeting focused on developing “blueprints for roads and pipelines in the next batch of projects.” No specific initiatives were immediately announced. An Uzbek Chamber of Commerce and Industry delegation met in Tianjin with the leadership of the Tianjin branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The sides agreed to finalize a memorandum of cooperation covering such areas as agriculture and seed production, textiles, machinery manufacturing, vocational education, as well as port and logistics operations.A delegation from Uzbekistan’s Ferghana region attended the 15th China Overseas Investment Fair in Beijing, where “agreements on cooperation in a number of areas were reached,” the Uzbek MFA’s news outlet, Dunyo, reported, offering no specifics.By EurasianetMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comChina Is Buying Oil Again After Months of Living Off Its StockpilesU.S. Traders Weigh the Cost of Taking Trump’s Russian DieselIran War Set to Drive A Drop in Global Fossil Fuel Emissions in 2026