It appears that western Siberia in Russia is ground zero for an outbreak of a major infectious disease that affects primarily livestock.China’s Ministry of Agriculture has reported outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Gansu Province, asserting that the disease entered the country via the northwest border, which touches Russia, Central Asian states, and Mongolia, according to Reuters.
The outbreak threatens to disrupt beef, mutton and pork production across western China, Russia and Central Asia.Russia reportedly has been battling a major outbreak of FMD in the Urals and Siberia since early 2026, which Russian officials are believed to be trying to conceal in an attempt to preserve the country’s FMD-free status and maintain export revenues.
Russia’s efforts to hide the outbreak have hindered containment measures, in effect abetting the spread of the disease to neighboring countries.Outside of China and Russia, confirmed or suspected cases have been reported in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
Kazakhstan has banned cattle, meat and feed imports from the Russian Federation and is vaccinating all cattle in areas adjacent to Russia.Chinese authorities report that the recent outbreak features a strain of FMD never before seen in the PRC, that it spreads easily and has a mortality rate of more than 50 percent in young animals.
They are also finding that domestic vaccines are not providing protection against infection.Officials in Xinjiang and Gansu have been ordered to step up the monitoring of herds.
They may also follow Kazakhstan’s example and temporarily halt meat and feed imports.Reports indicate that the outbreak of FMD originated around Novosibirsk, Russia, and is spreading not only south and east into Central Asia and China but is also moving westward in European portions of Russia.
Russian efforts to contain the epidemic reportedly include the quarantining and culling of herds.Kazakhstan The United States has granted a waiver allowing Kazakhstan to keep sending Russian oil to China through March 2027.
Kazakhstan and China want to get on the same page when it comes to messaging.Kazakh Culture and Information Minister Aida Balayeva recently discussed potential joint work with Li Shulei, head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Propaganda Department, during the Beijing launch of the China-Kazakhstan Year of Cultural Exchange.
The exchange program envisages producing joint messaging campaigns, movies and other media content, as well as holding cultural festivals.Kazakh Trade Minister Arman Shakkaliyev’s recent tour of Chinese provinces yielded $125 million in deals signed by Chinese and Kazakh companies.
Meanwhile, QazTrade, the ministry’s entity tasked with promoting trade, opened a representative office in Wuhan.Kazakh and Chinese companies signed 24 MoUs and discussed projects potentially worth about $2 billion at a trade forum in the Chinese city of Xian involving delegations from the Almaty region and ShaanxiProvince.
Following two separate meetings in Beijing, Kazakh and Chinese officials have concluded agreements outlining long-term plans to foster more efficient rail connectivity, including the development of border and port infrastructure.
China’s State Power Investment Corporation, in collaboration with Pavlodar Green Energy LLP, has started construction of a $1.2 billion, 1 GW wind farm in Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar region.
China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the Kazakh national oil and gas company, KazMunayGas, have launched a $1.25 billion carbamide production project in the Aktobe region.A Chinese entity, Moon-Tech International Trading Co., has been awarded a contract to provide equipment for a $400-million poultry farm being built by Kazakhstan’s Aitas Holding, reports Forbes.kz.
Notably, equipment for a previous Aitas project was supplied by European manufacturers.Kyrgyzstan The construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is stirring controversy in the Kyrgyz parliament over the issues of eminent domain and fair compensation for confiscated property.
Kyrgyz MP Altynbek Kylychbayev recently announced in parliament that 47 residential buildings in the village of Bagysh will be knocked down to make way for the railway.He raised concerns as there is currently no system in place to compensate homeowners, reports AKIpress.
Controversies associated with China-linked projects have long fueled anti-Chinese sentiments in Kyrgyzstan, and potential displacements caused by the massive railway project may add fuel to the fire.
A Chinese company, Quanyibao, donated 12 drones to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Water Resources, and announced plans to build a drone construction facility in Kyrgyzstan, reports Kabar.The news agency did not provide specifics.
The Chinese Academy of Railway Sciences and LanzhouJiaotong University intend to build a lab in Bishkek and implement joint projects with Kyrgyz entities in the areas of digital technologies in logistics and harmonization of technical standards.
Meanwhile, Osh Technological University is negotiating a joint degree program with the Chongqing Vocational Institute in China, according to 24.kg.China Southern Airlines launched its first flight between Guangzhou and Bishkek, reports 24.kg.
Tajikistan Officials from the Tajik Ministry of Health met with a visiting Chinese delegation seeking to assist Tajikistan in the construction of new medical facilities.The meeting resulted in an MoU signed by the Tajik company Behdosti, the People's Hospital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and the Xinjiang-Sanbao Industry and Trade Company, the ministry reported.
The statement offered no details about the contents of the memorandum.Uzbekistan Chinese and Uzbek officials have agreed to launch joint projects aimed at strengthening parliamentary capacity for budget planning and oversight of government spending, according to Uza.uz.
The agreement arose out of a meeting between the head of China’s National Audit Office and members of Uzbekistan’s Senate.Elsewhere, China’s deputy agricultural minister met with Uzbekistan’s deputy employment and poverty reduction minister to finalize a joint poverty-reduction program in Uzbekistan that emulates Chinese policies and provides for the training of Uzbek specialists in the PRC.
Both agreements appear linked to Beijing’s coordinated efforts to directly influence Uzbekistan’s domestic political and economic agenda.Continuing the expansion of the China-Central Asia air travel network, direct flights to Tashkent from Chinese cities of Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou have been launched, writes NazarNews citing the PRC’s CCTV-Plus.