Central Asia Wire
Independent Central Asia Monitor
Breaking
China's fuel promise to Mongolia gets a number: 17,000 tonnes for September, and a 20-year frame around itKazakhstan pauses collecting its $5.2 billion Kashagan fine after NCOC takes the bailiff to courtBaku moves the start of work on the Trump route to 2027, 6 days before Armenia's court takes up the dealKazakhstan's energy ministry says CPC loading stopped on 2 buoys after Tuesday's drone incident and resumed after checks

Search

17 results
  1. Kazakhstan and China sign a policing agreement for the Khorgos trade centre after 14 years of talks
    China FactorBrief8 Sept

    Kazakhstan and China sign a policing agreement for the Khorgos trade centre after 14 years of talks

    Interior minister Yerzhan Sadenov signed an intergovernmental agreement on security and public order at the Khorgos International Centre of Boundary Cooperation on a working visit to Beijing on 7 September, the ministry said; its spokesman told Tengrinews on Tuesday that the negotiation had taken 14 years. A second agreement gives mutual recognition to the two countries' driving licences.

  2. The first of 27 tunnels on the Kyrgyz section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is through
    China FactorBrief7 Sept

    The first of 27 tunnels on the Kyrgyz section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is through

    The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Company reported on Saturday that the Kosh-Dobo North No. 2 tunnel, 209.6 metres long and started in June 2025, had been holed through: the first of the 27 tunnels under construction on the 304.84 km Kyrgyz section of the line from Kashgar to Andijan.

  3. Tashkent and Beijing set a $30 billion target
    China FactorBrief1 Sept

    Tashkent and Beijing set a $30 billion target

    Mirziyoyev and Xi met in Bishkek on Monday and agreed to lift bilateral trade from about $18 billion to $30 billion, by the Uzbek president's press service.

  4. Beijing puts Xi's Bishkek dates in writing
    China FactorBrief26 Aug

    Beijing puts Xi's Bishkek dates in writing

    China's foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday that Xi Jinping will attend the SCO summit in Bishkek and stay for a state visit to Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz side announced him 37 days ago.

  5. China opens a 10-day door for Kyrgyz passports
    China FactorBrief21 Aug

    China opens a 10-day door for Kyrgyz passports

    Kyrgyz citizens can now transit China without a visa for 240 hours, entering through any of 65 ports, and can spend 30 days in Hainan. The immigration administration's decision took effect on Thursday, 12 days before the summit Bishkek says Xi Jinping will attend.

  6. An oil camp protest in Mongolia ends with an apology recorded by Beijing
    China FactorBrief20 Aug

    An oil camp protest in Mongolia ends with an apology recorded by Beijing

    A senior Mongolian official apologised to China's charge d'affaires after protesters raided the camp of a Chinese-invested oil explorer, the South China Morning Post reported, citing the Chinese embassy in Ulaanbaatar.

  7. Kyrgyz fuel importers sign with a second Chinese major
    China FactorBrief20 Aug

    Kyrgyz fuel importers sign with a second Chinese major

    The Kyrgyz fuel mission to Xinjiang has turned talks into signatures. Companies travelling with deputy cabinet chairman Erlist Akunbekov signed supply agreements with China National Petroleum Corporation, per a readout published Wednesday, after Monday's session with Sinopec.

  8. Russia's refineries falter, and Bishkek takes its fuel order to Urumqi
    China FactorBrief19 Aug

    Russia's refineries falter, and Bishkek takes its fuel order to Urumqi

    Kyrgyzstan's deputy cabinet chairman Erlist Akunbekov brought representatives of more than 10 fuel companies to Sinopec's table in Urumqi on Monday, with a mandate the cabinet's readout states in one line: “Kyrgyzstan is interested in increasing supplies of petroleum products from China.” About 95% of its fuel now comes from Russia, and Russia's refining is under drone attack.

  9. The SCO summit has a date in writing from everyone except Beijing
    China FactorBrief17 Aug

    The SCO summit has a date in writing from everyone except Beijing

    The organisation’s secretariat has fixed the heads of state council for 1 September in the Kyrgyz Republic, the first date on its own site; China’s foreign ministry has still not said the summit’s name, two weeks out.

  10. Uzbekistan’s satellite reaches orbit with its own AI on board
    China FactorBrief5 Aug

    Uzbekistan’s satellite reaches orbit with its own AI on board

    Samarkand-2028 went up from a sea platform off China’s Shandong coast on Wednesday morning, carrying a hyperspectral camera and an AI module Uzcosmos says its own engineers built.

  11. The AI conference opens with Kazakhstan in the hall
    China FactorBrief17 Jul

    The AI conference opens with Kazakhstan in the hall

    The World Artificial Intelligence Conference opened in Shanghai on Friday, four days, more than 140 forums, over 1,100 companies, with Xi Jinping billed to deliver the opening keynote and a high-level forum on global AI governance as the first day’s main event. Tokayev is attending; what he says there is the day’s watch item.

  12. Kazakhstan joins the mediation body China built in Hong Kong
    China FactorBrief14 Jul

    Kazakhstan joins the mediation body China built in Hong Kong

    Foreign minister Kosherbayev signed the convention of the International Organization for Mediation in Beijing on Monday, making Kazakhstan a member of the first intergovernmental body dedicated to mediating international disputes. It is headquartered in Hong Kong, it was launched by China in 2025, and its membership list is the point.

  13. At Summer Davos, China shifts from selling to Kazakhstan to building inside it
    China FactorBrief26 Jun

    At Summer Davos, China shifts from selling to Kazakhstan to building inside it

    Kazakhstan’s prime minister spent Summer Davos working a line of Chinese firms, from carmakers to battery giants. The thread running through the meetings is localisation: China moving from exporting goods to Kazakhstan toward manufacturing them there.

  14. Kazakhstan's Alatau roadshow in Shenzhen lands up to $6 billion in deals
    China FactorBrief11 Jun

    Kazakhstan’s Alatau roadshow in Shenzhen lands up to $6 billion in deals

    A Kazakh delegation came out of a Shenzhen roadshow on 10 June with 24 agreements worth up to 6 billion dollars for its new city of Alatau. The model, and much of the money, is Chinese.

  15. China FactorBrief8 Jun

    Mongolia went to Shanghai to raise money. 300 investors showed up

    The first Mongolia Investment Forum in China closed on May 27. It was the fourth edition of a global series — after New York, London, and Singapore. The choice of city was the message.

  16. Kazakhstan sells 3.4 billion yuan in debut sovereign Panda bond
    China FactorBrief2 Jun

    Kazakhstan Sells 3.4 Billion Yuan in Debut Sovereign Panda Bond

    Demand was twice the supply. The Ministry of Finance calls it proof of Chinese investor confidence in Kazakhstani macroeconomics.

  17. Middle Corridor in Focus
    China FactorBrief27 May

    Tokayev and China's Zhao Leji Discuss Expanding Partnership — With Middle Corridor in Focus

    The call follows Kazakhstan's record $48.7bn trade with China in 2025 and comes as Beijing seeks to deepen its position in Kazakh infrastructure