Central Asia China has launched a media blitz across Central Asia that portrays Beijing as a benevolent trade partner and the United States and European Union as pernicious troublemakers.
Chinese embassies across the region have placed Beijing-created content with a wide variety of print and broadcast outlets across the region.A statement issued by the Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan noted that the campaign’s main message for Central Asian audiences is that China has “all-encompassing love" for promoting "good neighborliness" and a win-win trade relations.
There is also a hint of menace in the statement, which implies that Beijing will not sit by idly if Central Asian governments take substantive steps to expand trade relations with the West.
It specifically cautions Central Asia to shun a “Cold War mindset,” Chinese Communist Party code for the Trump administration. “There is a Chinese proverb, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative,’ and only peace at one's own doorstep allows for confident development,” the statement continues. “China and the five Central Asian countries are natural members of the Global South and fellow travelers on the path to modernization.” Articles placed in dozens of Kazakh online media outlets, including Tengrinews, Kazakhstan’s most visited news website, tout the benefits of bilateral economic and scientific cooperation.
The Chinese embassy in Uzbekistan placed similar content in several major outlets including Uzbekistan 24, one of the nation’s most popular TV channels, and Xalq So'zi, the Uzbek government’s official newspaper and a must-read for government employees and those who follow government policies.
In Kyrgyzstan, the Chinese embassy opted for Vecherniy Bishkek, also a major outlet, whose interview with the ambassador generated multiple reprints.In connection with the media campaign, ACCWS, a Chinese entity “committed to introducing China’s achievements to the world and promoting contemporary China’s image,” sponsored public opinion polling in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan concerning China’s policies and influence.
Unsurprisingly, an analysis of the polling data prepared by the Pakistani partner of ACCWS highlighted results showing Central Asians have a broadly positive perception of China and that Beijing has had a “profound positive influence” on regional economic development.
A deeper dive into the ACCWS polling numbers seems to suggest that public attitudes towards China are more mixed than Beijing would like to admit.The analysis, for example, claims that an absolute majority of respondents agreed with statements that “Chinese enterprises contribute to raising local salary levels,” that “China’s approach of driving economic growth through technological innovation is sustainable,” and that the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization “enhances the region’s influence in international affairs.” But the charts that the pollster presents to substantiate those claims [see here, here and here] appear to show that the share of those agreeing and disagreeing with the statements is roughly equal at about 40 percent.
In all three cases, about 20 percent of the people surveyed gave a “neutral” response, meaning they refused to agree with the statements, but did not go as far as disagreeing with them.
In Central Asia, where, culturally speaking, a premium is placed on courtesy, and disagreeing is often considered rude and disagreeing with the local governments’ policies toward China can be outright dangerous many respondents who did not agree with the statements might tend to prefer the courteous and safer option of giving a “neutral” answer to openly disagreeing.
Thus, while China claims that a sizable majority of regional residents support its policies, in reality the opposite may be true: at the very least, as many Central Asian citizens seem to be wary of, or oppose Chinese influence as those who favor it.
Kazakhstan The number of border crossings by individuals via the Khorgos International Center for Border Cooperation on the Chinese-Kazakh border reached a record high of 10 million in 2025, having grown by about 33 percent year-on-year, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, citing Chinese customs statistics.
Chinese and Kazakh officials held discussions in Urumqi, the capital of western China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.on upholding the rights of Kazakh citizens living or temporarily residing in border areas of the PRC, Kazakhstan’s DKNews reported.
No information on the outcome of the talks was released.The very fact that discussions occurred, however, indicates the existence of some problems.Guangzhou Radio and Television has begun filming in Kazakhstan for the international travel project Make Friends in the Silk Road aimed at promoting tourism and cultural ties between Kazakhstan and China, reports Kazakh Tourism.
Kazakhstan will soon get its first high-tech production facility for environmental monitoring equipment.Lihe Technology, a major Chinese technology company, announced a plan to invest $3 million in the construction of a laboratory and the localization of equipment production, according to a report distributed by Astana.kz.
China’s “all-encompassing love" for win-win trade does not seem to apply to Kazakh agricultural products.Representatives of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture met with Chinese embassy officials to lobby for expanded access to the Chinese market for Kazakh agricultural exports.
The Chinese side refused to commit to anything beyond “continuing discussions.” China has long used tariffs to limit Kazakh exports of wheat and other products.Kyrgyzstan During the first 10 months of 2025, Kyrgyzstan increased citrus fruit imports from China by 53 percent, while decreasing nuts imports by 25 percent, reported Tazabek.kg citing Kyrgyzstan’s National Statistics Agency.
In late 2025, Kyrgyzstan dispatched the first shipment of dried apricots to the PRC, expanding the range of its agricultural exports, wrote 24.Kg, citing Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry.
Tajikistan China’s National Petroleum Company (CNPC) is prospecting for energy in Tajikistan’s Khatlon Province.The company is planning to conduct 3D seismic exploration for oil and gas in the province after a preliminary investigation produced promising results, according to a report distributed by the Tajik news agency Avesta.
Construction of a highway connecting the Tajik capital Dushanbe to China has been suspended.Chinese workers involved in the project have been evacuated from border areas of Tajikistan following the November attacks out of Afghanistan, RFE/RL reports.
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are launching a pilot multimodal transport corridor from China to Europe via Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkey, reports Avesta citing Tajikistan’s Ministry of Transport.
As part of the project, a convoy of 10 fully loaded trucks will travel from Uzbekistan to China, traversing Tajikistan.Turkmenistan To combat desertification, specialists from Turkmenistan’s National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna and the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have agreed to increase scientific exchanges, reported the Turkmenistan News Portal.
Uzbekistan China remains Uzbekistan’s largest outside investor: Beijing accounted for $15.5 billion of the overall $43.1 billion of implemented investments in the country in 2025, according to data compiled by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade.
The data covers both foreign direct investment and international development assistance.Russia is a distant second with $4.8 billion.The Khan Tengri Innovation Hub, a “Shanghai-based ecosystem integrating China’s innovations with Central Eurasia’s growing tech industry,” has launched а series of online pitch sessions for startups from the region seeking to expand into the Chinese market, according to Startup Base with Uzbekistan’s IT Park.
The initiative is being conducted in partnership with venture capital funds from Hong Kong and mainland China and will run throughout 2026.Khan Tengri also recently arranged a meeting between representatives of Uzbekistan’s leading start-up hub, IT Park, and one of China’s major start-up hubs, GUi.
A strategic partnership and cooperation agreement has been signed between the Almalyk State Technical Institute and the Chinese mining and construction materials company Conch Cement, according to review.uz.
The agreement covers the exchange of experience in production operations, training and research.It also creates a framework for potential joint mining-related projects.The Tashkent campus of the University of Pisa, China’s University of International Business and Economics and the Uzbekistan Technological Metals Complex Co.
have agreed to set up joint degree program in business management and international trade, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology reported.Regional Electric Networks, Uzbekistan’s last-mile electricity distribution monopolist, purchased 400 electric four-seat mini trucks from China.