China Expands Its Central Asian Footprint Through Aviation, Energy, and Trade

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China and Central Asia are acting fast to expand air links. Chinese and Central Asian aviation officials gathered in Tashkent on November 3-5 for a Working Group session under the…

Eurasianet is an independent news organization that covers news from and about the South Caucasus and Central Asia, providing on-the-ground reporting and critical perspectives on…

China and Central Asia are acting fast to expand air links. Chinese and Central Asian aviation officials gathered in Tashkent on November 3-5 for a Working Group session under the C5+1 format to improve implementation of existing agreements and review expansion plans. During the meeting, Kazakhstan agreed to raise permitted weekly flights from 150 to 180 and add routes to Chengdu and Kashgar. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, agreed to increase the number of weekly flights to China from 100 to 114.

Uzbekistan also proposed establishing new routes connecting Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and expanding weekly service between the two countries’ major cities, Tashkent, Almaty and Astana. Ahead of the conference, Air Astana and China Southern Airlines signed a strategic partnership agreement. At the signing ceremony, Kazakhstan’s vice minister of transport said that flights between Kazakhstan and China had increased 52 percent year-on-year.

Underscoring an ambition to become Central Asia’s aviation hub for Europe-China traffic, Astana announced that it is working on a 25-year civil aviation master plan with the International Civil Aviation Organization. Work is progressing across Kazakhstan on modernizing airports in Almaty and Urzhar, in Kazakhstan near the Chinese border, constructing a second runway in Shymkent and completing new regional airports in Zaisan, Katonkaragay, and Kendirli.

Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are trying to keep pace with rising air traffic. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon ratified a five-year National Civil Aviation Safety Program running until 2031 that covers international air traffic growth, infrastructure modernization, and security preparedness; Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhamedov endorsed measures to strengthen aviation safety.

On the sidelines of the Second Tien Shan Forum on…

At…

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