Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Turkmenistan Ji Shumin
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, the volume of trade between China and the five Central Asian countries in 2025 amounted to US $ 106.3 billion, with an increase of 12% compared to the previous year. This is the first time that the indicator of mutual trade has exceeded the mark of US $ 100 billion, which is more than 200 times higher than in 1992, when diplomatic relations between the countries were established. For the first time, China has become the largest trading partner of all five Central Asian countries.
How was such dynamic growth achieved?
First of all, the China-Central Asia format plays a key role. Since the first China-Central Asia Summit, relations between China and Central Asia have been continuously reaching new heights. At the Astana Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the “China—Central Asia spirit,” formulated as “mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit, mutual assistance and the promotion of joint modernization through high-quality development,” which was widely supported. The heads of the six states signed an Agreement on Eternal Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, declared 2025-2026 the “Years of High-quality Development of Cooperation between China and Central Asia,” and since that moment, cooperation between China and Central Asia has entered a new stage of high-quality development. 14 interdepartmental cooperation mechanisms within the framework of the China—Central Asia format comprehensively implement the agreements reached by the Heads of State and play an important role in promoting trade and investment cooperation between China and the countries of Central Asia.
Moreover, the milestone was achieved by the pulling power of the Chinese economy. During the implementation of the 14th five-year plan, China’s GDP growth has been stable at an average high level of about 5.0%, consistently breaking new milestones of 110, 120, 130 and 140 trillion yuan (equivalent to US $ 15.7, 17.2, 18.6, 20 trillion). In 2025, China’s foreign direct investment amounted to US $ 174.38 billion, or 7.1% up compared to the previous year, steadily remaining among the world leaders. The volume of foreign trade reached 45.47 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.8%, and the volume of trade with the countries participating in the Belt and Road initiative reached 23.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.3%. China’s position as the world’s largest commodity trading country remains stronger. China is the undisputed engine of the global economy, providing about 30% of the annual growth in global economic development. The deepening of cooperation between the countries of the region and China helps them to embark on the “express of the Chinese economy”, which in turn allows them to put their own economy on the path of accelerated development.
In addition, the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of mutual connectivity between China and Central Asian countries have given a powerful impetus to trade and economic cooperation. The China—Kyrgyzstan—Uzbekistan railway project has been officially launched; the construction of the third cross-border railway between China and Kazakhstan and key sections of the second stage of the China‑Tajikistan highway is steadily progressing; cooperation within the framework of the Europe-Asia transcontinental trains and the Trans-Caspian International Corridor is constantly deepening. The level of connectivity between China and Central Asia is steadily expanding, and the region, including Turkmenistan, is gradually turning into a “golden crossroads” connecting Europe and Asia.
The current year is the year of the beginning of the implementation of China’s 15th five-year plan. In the next five years, China will consistently combine high-level openness with high-quality development, accelerate the creation of a modern industrial system, progressively expand institutional openness, promote innovative trade development, and continuously deepen the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, which will bring more opportunities to Central Asian countries. Exceeding the $100 billion mark in terms of trade between China and the Five is an inspiring milestone; in the future, the potential for development will be even greater, and the prospects will be broader. ///nCa, 23 January 2026 (in cooperation with the Chinese Embassy in Turkmenistan)