China - The Times Of Central Asia

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China Remains Uzbekistan’s Top Trade Partner

In the first three months of 2024, the value of bilateral trade between China and Uzbekistan reached $2.1 billion. During this period, Uzbekistan's exports to China totaled $349.4 million, whilst imports from the People's Republic of China (PRC) reached $1.7 billion. This trade flow reflects a significant surplus in the PRC's trade balance, indicating a steady demand for Chinese goods. According to the Uzbek statistics agency, trade with China accounts for 21.5% of the country's total foreign trade. The number of companies with Chinese investments is steadily growing in Uzbekistan - at the beginning of April, there were 2,501 of them, up 7% compared to the end of last year. At a meeting of the leaders of Uzbekistan and China in Beijing in late January, 2024, Presidents Mirziyoyev and Xi agreed to prepare programs of cooperation in infrastructure development, industrial cooperation, technology transfer in agriculture, and green energy. Last year, Chinese companies commissioned two solar power plants in Uzbekistan with a capacity of 1,000 MW. Mirziyoyev and Xi said bilateral trade turnover between the countries could reach $20 billion annually. The two sides see great potential in the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan trunk-line railroad. According to various estimates, this multi-modal corridor will reduce the distance of cargo delivery to Europe from China by 900 kilometers, saving 7-8 days of transit time.

Finance Economy Export/import China Central Asia Kazakhstan Investments

Kazakhstan Has Become Main Trade Partner of China’s Xinjiang Province

According to Chinese Customs Service data from the first quarter of 2024, Kazakhstan became the main trade partner of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Since the beginning of the year, Xinjiang has conducted trade with 193 countries and regions of the world. The volume of imports and exports with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in currency terms has increased by 58.8% and 1.9% respectively. The volume of foreign trade originating from Xinjiang since the beginning of 2024 has increased by 42.7% year-on-year and reached about $13.2 billion. That puts Xinjiang in second place in China in terms of trade growth at the provincial level. Imports of agricultural products specifically increased by 36%. According to the General Customs Administration (GCA) of China, last year the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Xinjiang increased by 63% and reached $20.3 billion. In the first half of 2023 China became Kazakhstan's main trading partner, displacing Russia. China supplies the country with cars, computers and laptops, plastics and plastic products -- and from Kazakhstan imports oil, natural gas, uranium, ferroalloys, mined ores and concentrates and oilseeds.

polyethylene Business support China Kazakhstan Russia

Kazakh, Chinese and Russian Companies Unite on Polyethylene Production Plant

On April 19, a meeting was held between Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Chairman of the Board of KazMunayGas, Zhao Dong, President of the China Petrochemical Corporation (SINOPEC), and Mikhail Karisalov, Chairman of the Board of Russia’s SIBUR LLC. In the presence of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, the parties signed a tripartite protocol officially finalizing SINOPEC's entry into the joint construction of the first integrated gas chemical complex for polyethylene production in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau region. Costing around $7.7 billion, comprising investments of 40%, from KazMunayGas, 30% from SINOPEC 30%, and 30% from SIBUR, the plant will have the capacity to manufacture 1.25 million tons of polyethylene per year, equivalent to 1% of that produced globally. Speaking at the event, Bektenov emphasized the importance of the project due to its focus on the production of high value-added products. According to a report issued by his press office, a gas separation complex (GSC) will be built in Tengiz to supply ethane via pipeline to Karabatan in the Atyrau region to enable the new plant to produce 22 grades of polyethylene using Chevron, Phillips and Univation’s. licensed technology. The use of polyethylene is expansive ranging from medicines, prosthetics and syringes, to plastic wear-resistant pipes, construction materials, car parts, bulletproof vests and clothing for astronauts. It is also commonly employed in the food industry. Scheduled for completion by 2029, the plant’s target markets include Kazakhstan, CIS countries, China, Turkey, and Europe.

Central Asia Investments China Export/import Economy Uzbekistan Industry

Chinese Investors Plan to Build Solar Power Plant in Tashkent Region

Chinese investors have agreed to implement more major projects in Uzbekistan, according to statements made following the visit of a trade delegation from China to Uzbekistan's Tashkent region. Chinese businesses intend to invest $2 billion in the construction of a solar power plant in Ahangaran, $25 million in providing food for employees of social facilities, and $20 million in the construction of a diagnostic center. Also, Chinese investors are ready to invest $90 million in projects focused on the production of pharmaceutical products, metal structures, artificial fiber and threads. Earlier, Uzbekhydroenergo and China Southern Power Grid International agreed on joint construction of a 600 MW pumped storage hydropower (PSH) called Verkhny Pskem. The cost of the project is estimated at $1 billion. The first solar power plant in Uzbekistan was established with the assistance of the World Bank Group, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Uzbekistan. The station, with a capacity of 100 megawatts, became the country's first large-scale renewable energy facility. According to Uzbekistan's Ministry of Energy, the country plans to build about 25 large-scale solar power plants in the next 10 years.

Central Asia China Economy Kazakhstan Finance European Union Russia US Banking

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Debt Increases by $4 Billion in Five Years With Russia Growing as Creditor

According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, at the beginning of 2024 the external financial obligations of the republic reached almost $163 billion, whilst in 2019 this figure stood at $158.8 billion. The Netherlands are Kazakhstan's largest creditor with $42.6 billion owed, followed by the U.K. with $13.8 billion, and then Russia at $12.95 billion. Over five years, Kazakhstan's debt to Russia (+47.1%) and multilateral organizations (+28.5%) increased significantly. At the same time, the amount of debt held by legacy creditors decreased, including that held by the Netherlands (-12.9%), the U.K. (-37%), the U.S. (-7.4%), France (-4.3%), China (-20.7%) and Japan (-17%). Last December, the Asian Development Bank approved a $350 million loan to Kazakhstan. This was allocated to reform the country's financial management and increase the economy's resilience against external shocks. In February of this year, the World Health Organization, with the support of the World Bank, launched a Pandemic Fund project in Kazakhstan. For this purpose, the republic was allocated a grant totaling $19 million, as well as a multilateral grant of $27 million for three years. Earlier, former chief auditor of Kazakhstan, Natalia Godunova, criticized the use of international funds by government agencies, saying that the procedure is inefficient.

Transport Kazakhstan China Export/import Economy

Kazakh Khorgos Still a Vital Trade Link Between China and Europe

The Khorgos dry port in eastern Kazakhstan, on the border with China, has seen more than 2,000 container trains pass through it already this year, The Times of Central Asia has learned. Today 80% of all container trains taking Chinese goods to Europe pass through Khorgos. Railroad tracks in Khorgos lead to 18 countries -- and the volume of overland exports from China through Kazakhstan is growing. According to the customs service of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, more than 35,000 trains have passed through Khorgos since the China-Europe rail route was launched in 2016. About 20 railroad trains pass through there every day. The operator of the Khorgos checkpoint control center, Ma Xiaogang, commented: "Thanks to Kazakh-Chinese interdepartmental meetings and agreements, we coordinate actions among ourselves. We have established ties with Kazakhstani railroad companies. We have simplified customs clearance procedures. In addition, it has become possible to increase the volume of freight traffic." To simplify customs procedures and increase throughput, all dry port services have switched to 24-hour operations. The clearance procedure for one train has been reduced by 30 minutes. Smart technologies have also been applied in the logistics sector. According to the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan, China is one of the country's three main trade partners. Trade turnover between the countries increased by 30% and reached $31.4 billion in 2023. China increased its exports of cars (by fourfold), computers and laptops (by 1.8x), as well as plastics and plastic products (+8.4%). In turn, Kazakhstan increased exports of oil (+7.5%), oil & gas (+15.5%), uranium (+42.7%), ferroalloys (+6.7%), ores and concentrates (+30.5%), and oilseeds (up 1.5 times).