From the mines in Tajikistan to the wind farms in Kyrgyzstan, from the soda ash construction sites in Kazakhstan to the automobile production lines in Uzbekistan, the surging “Westward Journey” of Chinese enterprises is unfolding in Central Asia.
In 2025, the trade volume between China and the five Central Asian countries will historically exceed the US$100 billion mark, reaching US$106.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12%.
For the first time, China has become the largest trading partner of the five Central Asian countries, and Central Asia’s proportion of China’s foreign trade has further increased.
The coordinates of this core hinterland of the ancient Silk Road in China’s foreign trade map are being re-marked.
A few days ago, reporters traveled across many Central Asian countries, went deep into multiple projects, and talked with many business leaders and local governments, trying to restore this panoramic picture of Chinese enterprises going overseas in Central Asia.
The reporter found that the layout of Chinese enterprises in Central Asia has gone beyond the simple narrative of “overseas trade” and evolved into a systematic expedition that interweaves and empowers industry, technology, capital, and management.
This process is by no means a transfer of production capacity, but a profound restructuring of the industrial landscape – Central Asian countries achieve technological and industrial upgrading, China wins incremental markets, and in the two-way process, it writes a new paradigm of cooperation in the era of globalization.
Of course, behind the craze, it is not all flowers.
In this change that may affect the structure of several industries in the region, how to avoid “involution and spillover” and how to ensure the sustainability of mutual cooperation will test the wisdom of the participants.
Catching up with the trend in Central Asia
Jamshid, the head of Khojabad District in Andijan Prefecture, Uzbekistan, changed his car to BYD this year.
He slowly got out of the car, first had an in-depth understanding of the progress of the local waste-to-energy project with a total investment of US$178 million promoted by CAMCE, and then happily accepted an exclusive interview with the reporter.
“I don’t feel at ease if I don’t receive any Chinese people for a day.” Jamshid said.
Since this year, he has welcomed waves of Chinese investors.
There are currently more than 10 Chinese companies settled in the area, covering diverse industries such as steel structure and instrumentation.
It is planned to introduce more than 50 Chinese companies here, with a cumulative investment of US$300 million.
Data provided by Andijan state to reporters show that last year the state attracted a total of US$2.3 billion in foreign investment, with more than half of the investment coming from China.
The governor specially equipped three Chinese translators to cope with this round of investment boom by Chinese companies.
The Chinese cooperation projects being promoted in the state cover urban construction and high-rise residential development, railway and transportation logistics center construction, tourism and artificial lake complexes, industry and construction material production, etc.
This means that Chinese investment has moved from a single project to all-round coverage.
This is a microcosm of Chinese-funded enterprises “jumping on the trend” in Uzbekistan.
As of the beginning of 2026, there were more than 5,000 Chinese-funded companies registered in Uzbekistan, ranking first among foreign-funded companies in Uzbekistan.
Among the newly added Chinese-funded enterprises last year, the number of manufacturing enterprises exceeded that of trading enterprises for the first time. This shows that Chinese-funded enterprises are shifting from “dumping goods” to “taking root”, producing and selling locally and creating jobs.
Walking around in major cities in Central Asia, BYD cars with “Build Your Dreams” marked on the rear have become a fashion symbol.
In June 2024, BYD’s Uzbekistan plant will be put into production.
This is BYD’s important production base in Central Asia, mainly producing plug-in hybrid models, aiming to radiate the entire Central Asian market.
According to BYD, the company has deployed multiple overseas factories around the world, building an annual production capacity matrix totaling over one million vehicles.
Every overseas production line is an export station for China’s new energy technologies and standards.
Some automobile analysts believe that Tesla adheres to the “global unified model + centralized production” model, while BYD has built a new model of “regional customization + transplantation of the entire industry chain”. The latter is conducive to engraving China’s new energy vehicle standard system into the global automobile industry.
O.R.G., the leader in the packaging industry, is disposing of some of its European assets while accelerating its expansion in Central Asia.
The company is building a two-piece can factory in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with an annual production capacity of 900 million cans and a total investment of over RMB 600 million. Mass production is expected in 2027.
According to company insiders, this is one of the most important overseas strategic investments of ORG in recent years, reflecting the in-depth localization strategy of “building factories wherever the customers are.”
“The beverage market in Central Asia is rising rapidly, and giants such as Michelle, Pepsi, and Carlsberg have settled in Central Asia. As a key link in the supply chain, packaging companies need to follow up.”
Internet giants are not absent either.
In April this year, Tencent acquired a 3.2% stake in Kaspi.kz, Kazakhstan’s leading financial technology and e-commerce platform, for US$518 million, marking its first investment in Kazakhstan.
Previously, Tencent also participated in multiple rounds of financing for Uzbekistan’s digital ecosystem platform Uzum.
This has injected new variables into the layout of the digital service market in Central Asia by Chinese companies.
Wang Qiang (pseudonym), an international relations scholar at Nankai University, analyzed that Central Asia is undergoing a profound digital transformation, with the region’s overall e-commerce penetration rate growing at an annual rate of over 26%.
For Chinese foreign trade companies, the capital layout of giants is like paving the way and building bridges, which will lower the threshold of key links such as payment, traffic, and trust.
From the “photovoltaic sea” in the desert to the “big windmills” on the grasslands, although Central Asian countries are rich in fossil energy resources such as oil and gas, they are also relying on new energy to open up new roads.
The Chinese-funded private shops and new energy fleets on the streets added to the atmosphere of people’s livelihood in this westward journey.
These together outline the picture of Chinese-funded enterprises going overseas in Central Asia.
Industrial changes
In May this year, the first phase of the Astana light rail project in the capital of Kazakhstan was officially opened to traffic, becoming the first driverless light rail line in Central Asia.
All projects are constructed using Chinese technology, Chinese standards and Chinese equipment.
Kazakhstan President Tokayev was the first passenger on the first day of the light rail’s opening.
He said that the opening of the Astana light rail is of milestone significance for the capital and the entire Kazakhstan. Astana should be built into a transportation hub on the Eurasian continent in the future.
Industrial problems also appeared intensively.
Recently, the silver products and jewelry processing factory invested and constructed by Tazhong Mining, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tibet Everest, opened in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.
The President of Tajikistan cut the ribbon for the project.
The formal operation of the factory has become an important breakthrough for Tajikistan’s jewelry processing industry.
In the future, the existing China-Tajikistan Industrial Park will be upgraded to the Nonferrous Metals Industrial Park in northern Tajikistan, pushing the level of local industrial modernization to a new level.
Chinese-funded enterprises are “jumping on the trend” in Central Asia. Not only are they making frequent appearances here for the “first time”, some changes in the industrial structure can even be described as “counterattacks.”
In a wilderness of more than 40 hectares in Zhanatas, Zhambyl Region, Kazakhstan, a modern soda ash plant rose from the ground.
More than 1,000 workers are working simultaneously on the project site.
Many key structural projects such as carbonization, filtration, and evaporation and suction processes have been completed on schedule. It is expected to reach equipment commissioning conditions in September this year and produce the first batch of finished soda ash in November.
This is the first soda ash project in Kazakhstan built by CAMCE as the general contractor. It uses China’s mature soda ash process technology and complete sets of equipment. It is a typical “package export” of China’s industrial system.
This project will end Kazakhstan’s long-term dependence on soda ash imports.
“Although it has not been officially put into production, many downstream companies have come to inspect it in advance.” Project investor Corex, a Turkish consortium
Yusuf, the person in charge of Holding, told reporters, “It is very close to major markets such as Almaty and Tashkent, and all production raw materials can be obtained within a short distance. Relying on local resources, location and cost conditions, the project will have strong cost competitiveness in the future.”
The first-phase project has an annual output of 500,000 tons, of which about 350,000 tons are supplied to the Kazakh domestic market and 150,000 tons are exported.
Recently, Corex Holding and CAMCE signed a second-phase construction contract.
Yusuf said that the project party will study and promote the subsequent construction of the project based on market demand, resource conditions and follow-up investment arrangements to further enhance the supporting capabilities of the local soda ash industry.
In the future, Kazakhstan will completely transform from a net importer of soda ash to an exporter; at the same time, it will accelerate the agglomeration effect of local downstream industries such as glass and building materials.
The combination of huge production capacity and extreme cost advantage has changed the regional soda ash competition pattern.
“Some high-cost and small-scale soda ash producers in neighboring countries may transform into traders in the future.” Yusuf predicts.
New Paradigm of Going Global
The entry of Chinese-funded enterprises is not only conducive to the upgrading of local industries, but also is expected to form an industrial butterfly effect.
However, the five Central Asian countries are not a unified market. Although this “blue ocean” is fragrant, we cannot swim randomly with our eyes closed.
During the interview, many Chinese-funded enterprises paid close attention to the sustainability of economic development in Central Asian countries.
For example, the fiscal revenue growth rate of some countries has continued to be higher than the GDP growth rate in recent years. One of the core driving factors is that gold reserves have benefited from the strengthening of international gold prices.
Many heads of Chinese companies are paying close attention to whether this “bulk dividend” is sustainable.
“Involution and spillover” is also an aspect mentioned by many interviewees, and phenomena such as bidding at low prices occasionally occur.
The aforementioned person close to O.R.G. told reporters: “Some Chinese companies are accustomed to adopting the strategy of ‘I follow wherever my peers go’, tending to grab low-end market share and make quick money. This is what industry leaders are most distressed about.” Wang Qiang analyzed that Chinese companies’ overseas advantages were once focused on cost-effectiveness, supply chain efficiency and rapid iteration capabilities, but this is more suitable for grabbing shares in the incremental market rather than fighting for brands and core technologies with foreign companies in the stock market.
Companies that compete for the market with low prices and low quality should not be allowed to damage the image of Chinese companies overseas.
Correction mechanisms are also being explored.
An unnamed person revealed that during the advancement of some overseas projects, some Chinese companies have begun to explore ways to reduce low-price and disorderly competition and improve the long-term quality of operations in overseas markets through compliance exchanges, risk warnings and industry self-discipline initiatives.
“It is not easy to organize. These companies have been rivals in China for many years and compete with each other. When the alliance was first formed, all parties thought it was just a formality; after continuous grinding, a set of operational coordination mechanisms was gradually formed before it was finally recognized. Until now, the business leaders of these companies in Central Asia will organize regular communication meetings to seek more cooperation amidst mutual competition.” An alliance leader told reporters.
“In the future Central Asian market, Chinese companies need less price involution and more technology accumulation; less low-level copying and more local deep cultivation.” Wang Qiang said that when more and more companies implement this concept, the ancient land of Central Asia will be dazzling with the injection of Chinese power; the globalization journey of Chinese companies will also be more stable and longer-term in this hot land of Central Asia.
This may be the more profound significance of this “Journey to the West”.
