Chinese media reports say commerce ministers from five Central Asian nations have agreed to sign deals during upcoming summit

China’s state-run foreign-language news channel, CGTN, reported on April 18 that China and five Central Asian nations have vowed to further enhance their trade and investment cooperation. Commerce ministers from the six nations reportedly met on April 18 via video link. 

China and the five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – agreed to establish the mechanism of the China + Central Asia Summit last year.

The first one is expected to be held in China in May, according to CGTN.

The commerce ministers of the five Central Asian countries agreed to sign a series of cooperation agreements during the upcoming summit.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said China and the five Central Asian countries have achieved fruitful results in their cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to him, China’s trade volume with Central Asia over the first two months of this year has grown by 22 percent year-on-year, showing strong momentum in development with a better structure.  The cross-border e-commerce between China and Central Asia reportedly increased by 95 percent year-on-year in 2022, and nearly 300 Central Asian enterprises joined China's e-commerce platforms.

The Chinese commerce minister said the products imported from the Central Asian countries are quite popular among Chinese consumers.

He said China will hold live-streaming sales events in May to further promote Central Asian goods.

Xinhua reports that Wang noted that China's trade with Central Asia's nations last year valued at 70.2 billion US dollars, “which is a historical record.”

According to him, the import of agricultural, energy and mineral products from these countries into China has risen more than 50 percent and the export of Chinese mechanical and electronic products to the Central Asian countries has risen 42 percent.  

According to CGTN, Kazakhstan's Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin said that Central Asia is now one of the most rapidly developing regions in the world with a strategic geographical location and huge economic potential.

"Central Asia was the first region to implement the Belt and Road Initiative.  And thanks to the joint efforts, our cooperation has been restored to the pre-pandemic level and we've already witnessed a substantial increase in trade," Kazakh minister was cited as saying.