China bolsters links with Asian countries

Tangible benefits

Central Asia, especially Kazakhstan, has served as a key gateway on the western route for China-Europe freight trains. As of July, more than 57,000 train journeys had been made via this transportation corridor－which was launched in 2011－with shipments of 5.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of goods worth nearly $300 billion.

The launch of China-Europe freight trains shortened the time fivefold to transport goods between Kazakhstan and Europe, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Sun Xiuwen, an associate professor at Lanzhou University's Institute of Central Asian Studies, said improving infrastructure connectivity has become a priority for China and Central Asian nations in their efforts to build a community with a shared future.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the exponential rise in the number of trips made by China-Europe freight trains through Central Asia speaks volumes for the steady efforts made by the two sides in using their respective strengths, she said.

Sun added that China has taken part in a series of infrastructure construction projects in the five nations, including the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan International Highway and the Vakhdat-Yovon railway in Tajikistan, helping the five countries strengthen their transportation capacity.

To help these nations alleviate power shortages, Chinese companies built power plants in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, and Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, as well as a power transmission project spanning 410 km in Kyrgyzstan, she added.

Li Ziguo, director of the Department for European-Central Asian Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, wrote in a research note in March that China has become the largest or the second-largest trading partner of Central Asian countries and a major market for their commodities.

Improved infrastructure networks have made the region a key corridor for China's exports to Europe, he wrote.

"The Chinese economy and the economies of Central Asian countries have been further integrated in the process of jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, which has accelerated the globalization of the five countries," Li added.