China and Central Asian countries have ample room to deepen economic and trade ties by expanding collaboration in fields such as digital trade and green development, while working to strengthen supply chain integration and regional connectivity in the next stage, market watchers and exporters said.

China and the countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have been deepening economic and trade collaboration, forging dynamic and beneficial partnerships in fields such as agriculture, energy, infrastructure and natural resources, China's Ministry of Commerce said.

With China and Central Asian countries accelerating the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and reinforcing ties in areas of common interest, such as production capacity, transport and finance, experts said these moves will expand their economic collaboration from trade and investment activities mainly engaged in the energy, natural resources, infrastructure and agriculture sectors to more fields.

Wan Zhe, a professor specializing in regional economic development at Beijing Normal University, said that digital trade, as a core element of the digital economy, can effectively connect trade chains' information nodes and reduce information asymmetries and transaction costs between countries.

This has become crucial in boosting regional collaboration, Wan said. Central Asian countries have adopted the digital development trend, strengthening regional economic collaboration in areas such as the development of smart cities, telemedicine and advanced manufacturing in recent years.

Wang Jinguo, a professor at the Institute for Central Asian Studies of Lanzhou University in Gansu province, said collaboration among all parties in digital trade, sustainable growth and trade in services will lay the foundation for mutually beneficial collaboration, fostering an environment of broad consultation, collective contribution and shared benefits in the partnership between China and Central Asia.

"With Central Asian countries supporting green transition and having soaring demand for electricity, the region is in urgent need of substantial external funding and technology support," Wang said. "China is well positioned to provide such help. It is likely that as we work together, investment between China and Central Asia will continue to grow."

China's direct investment stock in the five Central Asian countries exceeded $17 billion by early December, covering a range of sectors such as infrastructure, logistics, manufacturing, new energy, oil and gas exploration and telecommunications, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Thanks to factors such as the growth of the Belt and Road Initiative and their complementary trade structures, China's trade with the five Central Asian countries surged from 312.04 billion yuan ($43.48 billion) in 2013 to 674.15 billion yuan in 2024, representing an increase of 116 percent, the General Administration of Customs said on Sunday.

China's trade with these countries reached 286.42 billion yuan between January and May this year, up 10.4 percent year-on-year, and a record high for this period, the administration said.

Central Asian nations primarily export crude oil, natural gas, mineral and agricultural products to China, along with chemicals, metals, nonferrous metals, livestock and food products.

In turn, China mainly exports manufacturing equipment, steel, vehicles, electronics, textiles, garments, household appliances, construction materials, medical equipment and consumer goods to these countries.

The China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base in Jiangsu province, a key hub for promoting the circulation of goods and trade between China and the Central Asian countries, handled 26,500 twenty-foot equivalent units via the China-Central Asia freight train service in the first four months of this year, up 1.3 percent year-on-year, Nanjing Customs said.

"The frequency of the China-Central Asia freight train service has increased significantly in recent years. This has boosted our confidence to further develop this market," said Liu Shoujie, president of the international business branch of Xuchuan Chemical (Suzhou) Co, a polyurethane products maker in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

Reflecting this momentum, between January and April the value of the company's exports to Central Asia was 18 million yuan ($2.5 million), 10 percent more than during the same period last year.

Ningbo Handian Electric Appliance Co, a home appliance maker in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, sold refrigerator products worth 20.7 million yuan to Central Asian markets between January and April, an increase of 69 percent year-on-year, Ningbo Customs said.

"Central Asia has strong demand for high-quality and reasonably priced mid-to-high-end refrigerators, and our smart refrigerator products are particularly popular with local consumers," said Wang Jianming, the company's head of exports.

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