Head of ISMI at Bishkek forum assesses China and Central Asia trade

According to Aripov, in 2025, China's trade with Central Asian countries exceeded $106 billion for the first time and grew by 12% over the year. China, he said, remains the leading trade partner for each of the five states in the region. Over five years, the volume of trade between Uzbekistan and China tripled and approached $18 billion, while Chinese investments grew fivefold and reached $17 billion.

At the same time, the head of ISMI noted that not all goals have been achieved yet: the trade structure does not yet fully correspond to the interests and capabilities of the parties. In this regard, he pointed out the importance of transport networks, including the construction of the 'China - Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan' railway, and considered it important for new routes to serve not only for transit but also become economic corridors. Aripov also spoke about industrial and digital cooperation, primarily about coordinating standards, approaches to joint projects, and security protocols.

In his opinion, at the current stage of partnership, it is necessary to move from growth in volumes to quality, from commodity trade to production cooperation, from project exchange to exchange of management experience. Modernization, the ISMI director believes, works when the parties adopt each other's experience, rather than copying foreign models. The theme of the forum this year is 'High-quality development and joint modernization'.