China’s Trade With Central Asia Surges 6.5%

China’s trade turnover with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the largest economies in Central Asia, showed strong growth in the first half of 2026, as did trade with Tajikistan. Meanwhile, the numbers for Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan fell, according to the PRC’s General Administration of Customs. China’s overall trade with the region showed a year-on-year increase of 6.5 percent, rising from $49,70 billion in the first half of 2025 to $52.94 billion during the same period this year. The balance of trade was lopsided in Beijing’s favor by a roughly 2-to-1 ratio: $34.94 billion to $18 billion.Kyrgyzstan experienced a dramatic – and unexplained – drop-off in its commerce with the PRC – seeing bilateral turnover fall from $14.25 billion in H1 2025 to $9.7 billion during the same period this year. Kyrgyz exports to China plunged to just $75 million during the first six months of 2026, from $3.89 billion during H1 last year. Kyrgyz imports from China shrank from $10.36 billion to $9.63 billion during the same timeframe. Neither Kyrgyz nor Chinese authorities have ever explained what kind of goods accounted for Kyrgyz exports skyrocketing from tens of millions in 2023 to billions in 2024 and 2025, and why they have now spiked back down. Kyrgyzstan has been accused of being a major transit hub for funneling sanctioned goods to Russia. Analysts speculate that the dramatic fluctuation in exports is related to Russia’s in-kind payments – in gold or other valuable commodities – for sanctioned goods made via Kyrgyzstan. Uzbekistan became the region’s leader in terms of trade growth, boosting commerce with the PRC by 31 percent, from $6.75 billion in the first half of 2025 to $8.87 billion during H1 this year. The balance of trade, however, squarely favored China: Beijing exported $7,65 billion worth of goods and services to Uzbekistan during the first half of this year, up from $5.96 billion in H1 2025, while imports during that period grew from $797 million to $1.22 billion. Kazakhstan was not far behind its southern neighbor, boosting year-on-year trade with the PRC by 25 percent, from $21.8 billion to $27.2 billion. However, unlike Uzbekistan, Astana’s trade with Beijing was not as lopsided: while China’s exports to Kazakhstan grew moderately from $14 billion in H1 2025 to $14.98 billion during the same period this year, its imports skyrocketed from $7.79 billion to $12.22 billion over the same timeframe. Tajikistan’s turnover with the PRC also showed decent growth of 15 percent, from $2.04 billion to $2.35 billion. As with Uzbekistan, Beijing sold far more than it bought: the PRC’s exports to Tajikistan grew from $1.78 billion in H1 2025 to $1.91 billion during the same period this year; imports grew from $263 million to $444 million. Like Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan’s trade with China declined, although by just 1 percent from $4.87 billion in H1 2025 to $4.82 billion during the first six months of this year. At the same time, Ashgabat retained its status as the only Central Asian state to run a surplus with the PRC, even though the country’s exports to China continued their years-long trend of shrinking – this time from $4.23 billion in H1 2025 to $4.04 billion this year. Imports grew from $641 million to $778 million over the same timeframe. Turkmenistan is a major supplier of natural gas to China.By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comOil Prices Slip Despite New Attacks Across the Middle EastTaiwan Halts $800 Million in Spot LNG Buys From Papua New GuineaHouthis Claim Attack on Saudi Oil Tanker in Red Sea