Uzbekistan and China are poised to increase bilateral trade to $20 billion a year.
The statement, quoted by the news portal Novosti Uzbekistana (nuz.uz) was given by given by Obid Khakimov, director of Uzbekistan’s Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR) at the conference ‘Uzbekistan and China: promoting mutually beneficial cooperation for the benefit of the two countries’ peoples.’
In 2023, China ranked top amongst Uzbekistan’s partners in trade, with a share of 22%.
Over the past 7 years, Uzbekistan’s trade turnover with China has increased almost threefold from $4.8 billion to $13.7 billion; exports have risen from $2 billion to $2.5 billion, and imports from $2.7 billion to $11.3 billion.
The analysis by the CERR illustrates Uzbekistan’s potential to increase its exports to China by substituting products currently sourced in large volumes from third world countries. In the main, these comprise fruit, vegetables and other foods, textiles, copper, and chemicals.
Uzbekistan is especially interested in collaborative projects with China for the deep processing of locally mined strategic raw materials, and the implementation of socially important programs based on partnerships between public and private sectors.
The early construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which by cutting the distance travelled by 900km, will reduce the delivery time of cargo by 7-8 days, is another area of key importance to Uzbekistan.
According to Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency, in 2023, China’s contribution of 25.6% was the largest of the total sum of foreign investments and loans in Uzbekistan. In comparison, the contribution from Russia was 13.4%; Saudi Arabia, 7.9%; Turkey, 6.4%; the United Arab Emirates, 5.8%, and Germany, 4.3%.
