China-Central Asia Cooperation Shifts to "Corridor-Belt-Industry"

What are the strategic considerations behind China’s and Central Asia’s shift toward corridor-based industry cooperation?

【Global Times Special Correspondent in Kazakhstan Li Qiang】According to a report by Azerbaijan’s “Trend” News Agency on the 19th, China and Turkmenistan recently exchanged views in Beijing on deepening natural gas cooperation. Turkmen officials defined natural gas cooperation as a “strategic partnership” in bilateral relations during the talks, and specifically mentioned the “China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline,” believing that these collaborations not only support Turkmenistan’s economy but also relate to its domestic social stability. According to observations by the “Global Times” reporter in Kazakhstan, this statement sends a clear signal to the outside world: amid ongoing fluctuations in the global energy landscape, China-Turkmenistan natural gas cooperation remains the most stable pillar in their relationship.

Analysis by “Central Asia Times” suggests that China currently imports about 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Turkmenistan via the China-Central Asia pipelines A, B, and C; if the D line is completed, the total capacity could increase to approximately 65 billion cubic meters. Currently, over 80% of Turkmenistan’s natural gas exports go to China, making the Chinese market its most stable export destination. The successful construction of the D line in the future will not only impact China’s land-based energy security but also influence Turkmenistan’s future fiscal stability and export structure.

At present, China is engaging in extensive infrastructure cooperation with Central Asian countries, with pipelines, roads, and railways interwoven across the region. According to Kyrgyzstan’s Kabar News Agency, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project is actively progressing, with a total length of 305 kilometers within Kyrgyzstan, four large tunnels under construction, and the overall project including 29 tunnels and 50 bridges, expected to be completed within six years.

In response, “Central Asia Times” comments that this railway is a strategic route to strengthen land connectivity between China and Central Asia and beyond. For Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, it signifies a simultaneous rise in trade, economic integration, and transit status.

According to Kyrgyzstan’s 24.KG News Agency, the next phase of Kyrgyzstan-China cooperation has been clearly focused on six major areas: transportation and transit connectivity, energy, finance and e-commerce, education and science, tourism, and security. Currently, Kyrgyzstan and China have launched an electronic freight permit system, exchanging 130,000 paper-based transit permits in 2025 alone. The digital reform is viewed by Kyrgyzstan as an important step to improve transparency, facilitate trade, and reduce corruption risks.

Foreign media generally believe that the most noteworthy change in China-Central Asia cooperation is not just individual projects, but the shift in cooperation logic from “resource-for-market” to “corridor-based industry,” with pipelines, railways, roads, border crossings, and logistics systems being integrated into a mutually supporting regional connectivity network.

Kyrgyzstan’s Kabar News Agency comments that China’s promotion of transportation infrastructure cooperation has become a key catalyst for promoting Central Asian economic integration, trade facilitation, and people-to-people exchanges.