By 2025, trade in goods between China and Central Asian countries will exceed US$100 billion for the first time, yielding fruitful results in economic and trade cooperation.

In 2025, under the guidance of the head-of-state diplomatic strategy, China’s economic and trade cooperation with Central Asian countries achieved remarkable and significant progress. According to Chinese customs statistics, the total import and export volume of goods reached US$106.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12%, with the growth rate increasing by 6 percentage points compared to the previous year. This data not only demonstrates the strong vitality of bilateral economic and trade cooperation but also injects new impetus into the region’s economic prosperity and development. The record-breaking trade volume is a major highlight of this economic and trade cooperation. The total value of China-Central Asia imports and exports exceeded US$100 billion for the first time in history and has maintained positive growth for five consecutive years. More notably, China became the largest trading partner of Central Asian countries for the first time, and Central Asia’s share of China’s foreign trade further increased. This series of breakthroughs and upgrades fully demonstrates the increasingly close economic ties and broad prospects for cooperation between China and Central Asian countries. The shift towards new and optimized product structures is also a key feature of this economic and trade cooperation. China’s exports to Central Asia reached US$71.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11%, with strong growth in machinery and electronics and high-tech products, and a steady expansion of the market share of the “new three essential products” (referring to three key new products). This indicates that China’s advantages in high-end manufacturing and technological innovation are gradually becoming apparent in trade with Central Asia. Meanwhile, imports from Central Asia reached US$35.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14%, with a further enrichment of non-resource products such as chemicals, steel, and agricultural products. This not only meets the diversified demands of the domestic market but also helps Central Asian countries optimize their industrial structures and achieve diversified economic development. The expansion and empowerment of new business models have provided new avenues and methods for trade between China and Central Asia. Cross-border e-commerce imports and exports between China and Central Asia have maintained rapid growth, with continuous progress in warehousing and logistics construction and comprehensive rollout of cross-border payment cooperation. In particular, the China-Central Asia Trade Facilitation Cooperation Platform was officially launched in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, making “Silk Road E-commerce” an efficient bridge for smooth trade. These measures have significantly reduced trade costs, improved trade efficiency, and brought greater convenience and benefits to businesses and consumers on both sides. Investment and trade integration has further deepened cooperation between the two sides. High-quality cooperation in jointly building the “Belt and Road” initiative continues to deepen and become more practical, with a number of large-scale projects in areas such as connectivity, equipment manufacturing, green mining, and modern agriculture being accelerated. The implementation of these projects has not only effectively boosted China’s exports to Central Asia but also helped Central Asian countries achieve industrial upgrading and economic revitalization. Looking to the future, the Ministry of Commerce will fully implement the important outcomes of the China-Central Asia Summit and coordinate efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of economic and trade cooperation. By optimizing the trade structure, cultivating new business models, promoting the integrated development of trade and investment, and pushing for the establishment of higher-level institutional arrangements, the economic and trade connotation of the China-Central Asia community with a shared future will be continuously enriched. It is foreseeable that economic and trade cooperation between China and Central Asian countries will usher in a brighter future.