Railway directions Uzbekistan-China: trade, transit and new logistics centers

The historical roots of Uzbek-Chinese relations go back centuries and today serve as a solid basis for the development of an effective, mutually beneficial partnership at the present stage. The ancient Silk Road, which connected regions and stimulated mutual cooperation and cultural exchange, today takes on new significance and continues to serve as an economic, cultural and humanitarian bridge between countries and peoples.

Today, the positions and approaches of Uzbekistan and China on current issues of the international agenda, ensuring global security and development are similar. China fully supports the independent path of development of Uzbekistan, the large-scale reforms being carried out in our country under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

By strengthening close ties within the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Central Asia-China format and other multilateral international structures, both states protect common interests and make a positive contribution to achieving security and development throughout the world. It should be noted that Uzbekistan and China actively participated in the creation of the SCO and always support each other in the implementation of initiatives and proposals put forward by both sides.

In recent years, economic and transport ties between Uzbekistan and the People's Republic of China have been consistently developing. While bilateral trade volumes are reaching record levels, railway routes are acquiring strategic importance.

In order to develop mutual trade and economic relations between the territories of the two states, interregional exchanges have intensified, the leaders of all regions of our country have repeatedly visited China, delegations from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Anhui provinces, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Shaanxi and Shanghai. Trading houses were opened in Beijing, Urumqi and a number of other cities.

Trade relations are developing from year to year, compared to 2017; in 2024, trade volume increased 3 times and at the end of 2024 amounted to 12.5 billion US dollars. Of this, $2 billion comes from exports, and $10.5 billion from imports. Direct investments from China, along with the capital of other leading partners of Uzbekistan, are actively involved in a number of sectors of the economy of Uzbekistan.

Large Chinese companies such as Huawei, ZTE, Wenzhou Jinsheng Trading, QK Peng Sheng, Sinotruk, Heng Bang Textile Central Asia and many others operate in the Uzbekistan market.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, which is of strategic importance for strengthening transport connectivity and development of the region within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, is today recognized as the "Construction of the Century." The construction of this promising railway line represents a literal revival of the Great Silk Road.

After many years of effort, the construction of the China - Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan railway began on December 27, 2024 in the city of Jalal-Abad of the Kyrgyz Republic.

To date, Thanks to effective cooperation between the railway workers of the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan, the parties achieved the result of the early start of work on key facilities, which indicates the transition of the project into the active phase of construction.

The project includes 20 stations, 42 bridges and 25 tunnels along the route "Kashgar - Torugart - Makmal - Jalal-Abad" - Andijan." It is expected that the construction of the railway will be completed by the end of 2030, the length of the railway line will be 532.53 km, and the volume of freight traffic along the route will reach 15 million tons per year. In addition, modern transit and logistics infrastructure, warehouses and terminals will be built along the route.

During the construction of this promising project, the construction of many tunnels and bridges will be completed, which is considered a high engineering achievement of the project. As a result of reducing the delivery time of goods, prices for their transportation will decrease, which, in turn, will lead to a decrease in the market value of goods. The creation of a sustainable transport corridor between China and Central Asia will lead to the creation of many new jobs and the further development of trade and economic ties between the countries of the region.

Research has shown that it is possible to attract about 10 million tons of cargo flowing from China to Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan route. If favorable conditions are created for cargo transportation along this route, the volume of traffic could increase 4 times by 2040. All this indicates the high not only transport and infrastructure, but also the economic significance of this project.

In addition, the China - Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan railway will reduce the length of the route by 1035 km, and the delivery time by a week compared to the existing China - Kazakhstan - Uzbekistan railway. After the completion of the railway line, as a result of the emergence of the shortest and most stable land transport routes between China and Europe, as well as China and South Asia, the transportation distance in the China-Europe direction will be reduced by 900 km, and between China and South Asia by 1000 km, while the travel time will be reduced by 1 week for both directions.

Uzbekistan-China railway routes not only contribute to the growth of bilateral trade turnover, but also strengthen the geo-economic position of Uzbekistan, accelerating the process of its transformation into a logistics center in Central Asia. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project will become a strategic transit bridge in the future and strengthen the role of Uzbekistan in the Eurasian logistics chain.

The growth of cargo turnover between Uzbekistan and China leads to the need to create collection, sorting and distribution points, as well as logistics centers in the two countries. In order to meet these emerging requirements and provide quality service, Uztemiryulcontainer JSC opened a cargo collection point in Lanzhou, China in 2025.

In the trade relations of Uzbekistan with the countries of East and Southeast Asia, the Chinese ports of Lianyungang and Qingdao occupy an important place. In particular, the importance of the port of Lianyungang, geographically conveniently located for the transportation of export-import cargo with the eastern provinces of China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and other countries in the region, is increasing.

In order to create the most favorable conditions for the transportation of export, import and transit cargo between Uzbekistan and China, as well as the further development of the transport corridor "Uzbekistan - Kyrgyzstan - China" in the "International Logistics Park of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," located in the Chinese port of Lianyungang, a logistics center has been created with the participation of representatives of Uzbek business.

It can be confidently stated that railway cooperation between the two countries is crucial not only from an economic point of view, but also from the point of view of political and regional stability, as well as transport security.

Usmonzhon Mukhtorjonov,

Head of Department

Center for the Study of Problems

development of transport and logistics

Isomiddin Absattarov, chief specialist