China - Central Asia: trade and cargo transportation are the most anticipated topics on the agenda of the summit
China will use the upcoming China-Central Asia summit as an opportunity to take trade and economic cooperation with the countries of this region to a new level, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said, Xinhua news agency reported.
Economic and trade cooperation between China and the five countries of Central Asia, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, has achieved tangible results since the establishment of diplomatic relations over 30 years ago, it was said at a press conference given by the ministry.
It is noted that the country's trade turnover with the five countries reached 70 billion US dollars in 2022 and recorded an annualized growth of 22% in the first quarter of this year.
The structure of trade has also improved over the years. According to the Chinese agency, last year China's imports of agricultural, energy and mineral products from the Central Asian countries jumped by more than 50% compared to last year, while exports of engineering and electronic products to these countries increased by 42%.
As of the end of March, China's direct investment in the five countries of Central Asia exceeded $15 billion.
The China-Central Asia Summit is due to take place in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on May 18 and 19. There is currently no specific agenda for the topics to be discussed. However, delegations are expected to support the synergy of the development of the Silk Road, especially the Middle Corridor, and rail transport that links these countries. Among them are intermodal transportations with the inclusion of the Caspian Sea through the ports of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
Recently, rail transportation market experts have noticed that more and more China-Europe Express trains are ending their journey in Central Asia. One simple illustration of this shift is the renaming of westbound trains from China-Europe Express to China-Europe (Central Asia) Express.
As Western analysts point out, Central Asia is a market that the world has long overlooked, but with post-pandemic changes, its role in international supply chains is changing accordingly.
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