In a boost for Middle Corridor trade, officials have signed an agreement in the Kazakh capital Astana that establishes unified transit documentation designed to simplify the transportation of cargo across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine, according to Open.kg.
The agreement, signed May 15, allows long-haul truckers to obtain a single permit that is recognized by all customs services, thus reducing transit times at frontiers along the route.
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan hosted a meeting of interior ministers under the “Central Asia-China” format.No specific details were released about the discussions, in keeping with the traditional secrecy surrounding the activities and decision-making processes within regional interior ministries, which oversee agencies dedicated to ensuring internal security.
Regional interior ministry statements published after the meeting did not offer much beyond claims that the sides “reaffirmed their firm intention to expand practical interstate cooperation, strengthen channels for the exchange of operational information, and develop regular professional contacts to effectively respond to cross-border challenges.” Beyond information exchanges, instances of practical cooperation are occurring, such as the recent deal under which China donated Tajikistan’s interior ministry security and anti-terrorism equipment, as reported by Pamir Inside.
Kazakhstan’s trade turnover with China exceeded $7.8 billion during the first quarter of 2026, making the PRC the Central Asian nation’s largest trade partner, according to official Kazakh statistics.
However, the Kazakh numbers contrast dramatically with China’s official statistics, according to which the bilateral quarterly turnover stood at $13.2 billion.Such significant disparities have become more pronounced after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, suggesting that Central Asia is used as a conduit for the smuggling goods to Russia.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev officially launched the Astana LRT, a light rail system built with Chinese technology, equipment and standards, according to Liter.kz.During the launch ceremony, Tokayev conversed with a Chinese delegation in Chinese, added Shyndyk.kz.
Before becoming president, Tokayev was a diplomat who spent time in Beijing.Kazakhstan’s Aktau Energy Company LLP, mostly owned by a Chinese corporation, signed loan agreements with a syndicate of Chinese banks that will finance up to 70 percent of the 1.5 billion yuan (about $220 million) required for the construction of a 160 MW combined-cycle power plant in the city of Aktau, according to Zhaik.su.
Kazakh authorities are preparing a large-scale overhaul of border infrastructure along its frontier with China, in particular the Khorgos free trade zone, according to Exclusive.kz.Negotiators are seeking to establish an unimpeded transport corridor linking Kazakhstan’s Khorgos Eastern Gates Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with China’s Khorgos SEZ.
In addition, there are plans to open four temporary warehouse sites in the zone and move Khorgos’ operating schedule to a 24/7 format.Kazakhstan’s agricultural exports to China expanded during the September-March period of the 2025/26 marketing year, according to APK Inform.
Exports of sunflower meal/cake rose by nearly 300 percent; vegetable oils and meal/cake by 61 percent; and rapeseed oil exports by 11.3 percent.APK Inform also reported that the PRC reduced its flour imports from Kazakhstan by 59 percent over the same period.
A Chinese company, Xiyu Agricultural Pte.Ltd, is constructing a new large-scale vegetable oil extraction plant in the North Kazakhstan region, with the estimated investment valued at 53 billion tenge (about $113 million), reports APK News.
Also, a new milling complex belonging to the Kazakh-Chinese company Silk Way Link has opened in the North Kazakhstan region, reports Petropavlovsk.news.Air Astana intends to increase the number of its flights to China to 50 per week, up from 23 flights earlier this year, according to BAQ.kz.
Kyrgyzstan China has agreed to loan Kyrgyzstan $305 million to cover about half of Bishkek’s investment obligations relating to the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, according to Kaktus Media.
Meanwhile, the project continues to cause headaches for Bishkek.In the Suzak District, local council member Ulanbek Bagishev threatened to block roads unless restrictions are imposed on heavy-duty vehicles loaded with gravel for the railway beds.
The heavy truck traffic is reportedly causing severe damage to newly paved roads, according to a report published by Turmush.kg.In response, local prosecutors have cautioned that any organized efforts to obstruct traffic will be prosecuted as a criminal offense.
Railway construction is falling short of job-creation projections, with only about 2,000 Kyrgyz citizens employed so far, reports 24.kg.Kyrgyzstan’s coal company, Kyrgyzkomur, and the Chinese company Xinjiang Dacheng Yuanlong Technology Co., Ltd.
have started construction on a $430 million energy and logistics project, encompassing a logistics center, a conveyor system and two coal preparation plants, reports Open.kg as well as Akchabar.
Kyrgyzstan’s State Institute of Seismic-Resistant Construction and Engineering Design has signed a memorandum of cooperation with China’s Xinjiang Institute of Construction Sciences, reports open.kg.A section of the Karagul-Akmat Road in Bishkek was repaired in a single day in advance of a visit by a Chinese Ministry of Public Security delegation, according to Tuz.kg.
Residents reported that repairs were done only to the section on which the Chinese delegation was due to travel.Uzbekistan Officials from Uzbekistan’s autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan signed several trade deals during a recent visit to China, including a $40 million contract for cotton cultivation and a $10 million agreement for 54 electric buses and charging equipment.
An MoU was also signed under which Chinese agricultural machinery will be assembled and maintained in Nukus, Karakalpakstan’s capital.Additional deals included preliminary agreements covering natural resource processing, transport/logistics and agriculture and livestock farming.
On the sidelines of the recent International Livestock Exhibition in China, Uzbek and Chinese officials signed joint-venture agreements covering several areas, including the establishment of laboratories to develop and produce feed additives, veterinary drugs, vaccines and biopreparations, reports UzA.
Turkmenistan Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent a message to his Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdymukhamedov accepting an invitation to visit Turkmenistan.The time of the visit is to be determined.