Cross-border market opportunities beckon

Record trade

Thanks to factors such as the tangible growth of the BRI and the complementary trade structure, trade between China and the five Central Asian countries reached a record $70.2 billion last year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

The momentum has also been sustained this year, with bilateral trade soaring 37.4 percent year-on-year in the first four months of 2023, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

Crude oil, natural gas, minerals and agricultural products are the main shipments by Central Asian countries to China. China exports mainly manufacturing equipment, steel, vehicles, electronics, textiles, garments and household appliances to these countries.

China, which is encouraging its companies to set up warehouses in Central Asian countries, will open up its e-commerce platforms to Central Asian businesses, said Shu Jueting, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce.

The country will expand digital trade with Central Asia, and share experiences in developing cutting-edge digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and 5G, Shu said during a news conference in late May.

By the end of 2022, China's direct investment value in the five Central Asian countries had reached nearly $15 billion, with a number of cooperation projects launched in fields such as oil and gas exploration and processing, manufacturing, regional connectivity and digital technologies.

She said China will promote the construction of cross-border infrastructure facilities, strengthen cooperation in crude oil, natural gas, new-energy minerals and other sectors, and expand imports of quality farm produce from Central Asian countries.

Lyu Jun, board chairman of COFCO Group, China's largest food trader in terms of sales revenue, said the company will continue to import agricultural products from Central Asian countries in the coming years, since agriculture is a key area of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries.

Lyu said agricultural cooperation had become a strong driver of bilateral trade growth, as the two sides are highly complementary in this field.

Kazakhstan has become an important source of wheat for China, along with other countries such as Canada, the United States, Australia, France and Russia. China imported 2.6 million metric tons of wheat from Kazakhstan between 2009 and 2022.

Among the total, COFCO Group had imported 1.33 million tons of Kazakh wheat, accounting for more than 51 percent, becoming the main channel for Kazakhstan's agricultural products to enter China.

In addition to wheat, the Chinese company also imports barley, oilseeds and edible oils from Kazakhstan, and exports tomato products, condiments, clothing and other products to the country, Lyu said.

This cooperation, he added, has created a mutually beneficial supply chain system between the two countries.

A great variety of Central Asian agricultural products have entered the Chinese market in recent years, including camel milk from Kazakhstan, honey from Kyrgyzstan, dried fruits from Tajikistan, cotton from Turkmenistan and cherries from Uzbekistan.

Last year, China's imports of agricultural, energy and mineral products from these countries jumped over 50 percent year-on-year, according to Customs statistics.