New Railway to Connect China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan

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ENB Pub Note: This story will coincide with a geopolitical series in our podcast. While this article is talking about a railroad project, it is part of the more significant strategies between land and sea power and how the West had tried to stop cheap Russian natural gas from influencing manufacturing profits. Now that Putin has been effectively shut out of the West, why should he negotiate with President Trump on the end of the Ukraine War? He can just go about his business and not do anything. President Trump and his administration is missing key points of why the Biden administration has done certain activities. I will be covering those in my upcoming podcasts. 

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway aims to boost trade and economic growth in the region.

• The project faces uncertainties surrounding financing, construction timelines, and profitability.
• The railway’s success will depend on its ability to compete with existing trade routes and deliver tangible benefits to the involved countries.

After a long search to line up financing, officials from China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have signed an investment agreement to build a railway that could reduce costs and cut transit times for Westward-bound freight rail traffic. But it is still going to be years before the first freight train rolls on the new route, and the route’s profit potential remains uncertain.

In his New Year’s address, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, long the railway’s most ardent proponent, portrayed the route as an economic game-changer for the Central Asian nation, casting the project as a catalyst for economic growth in a variety of areas.

“This path will provide new opportunities for the entire region, strengthen the economy and improve the lives of millions of people,” the Trend news agency quoted Japarov as saying. “Special attention will be paid to the opening of industrial enterprises, the creation of new jobs and the increase of the population’s income. The social sphere will reach a new level.”

The new route would stretch roughly 300 miles, connecting Kashgar in China to Andijan in Uzbekistan via points in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan’s difficulty in financing its section of the project, along with China’s reluctance to open its purse for Bishkek, had presented the biggest obstacles for the project. A railway company established by the three participating states will oversee construction of the almost 200-mile-long Kyrgyz segment, currently projected to take six years.

Top officials from the three states participated in a ceremonial launch of the project December 27 near the city of Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan. “The construction of the railway demonstrates China’s commitment to aligning its development with the interests of other countries to foster a win-win situation through greater openness,” the website of China’s State Council quoted Zhong Feiteng, an expert at the Chinese National Institute of International Strategy, as saying.

Whether the railway can match the Kyrgyz president’s rosy vision remains an open-ended question. While all sides report that financing is in place, specifics about amounts and terms are hard to come by. Though the launch ceremony has already been held, construction on the Kyrgyz segment is not slated to begin until July, according to official Chinese sources. Whether construction sticks to that timetable will be an important indicator of China’s commitment to seeing the project through.

If completed, the railway would create a more direct connection to China for Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Currently, rail traffic to/from China must transit through Kazakhstan.

Both Kyrgyz and Uzbek officials and experts see the railway’s primary purpose as expanding trade with the Middle East and Europe. “This will make Central Asia more important in the global supply chain,” said Ravshan Nazarov, an expert affiliated with Uzbekistan’s Academy of Sciences.

Beijing also hopes the route will boost Chinese exports to Europe. But even if it does not fulfill those hopes, China can still benefit: the railway is expected reduce transit times for Chinese imports of Central Asian foodstuffs and raw materials.

“Our coal imports from Kyrgyzstan will see a significant surge in quantity, while the transport cost will be cut by a third,” Jiang Zhidong, who heads the Kashgar-based Xinjiang Jiujiuxi International Trade Co., told official Chinese media.

The post New Railway to Connect China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan appeared first on Energy News Beat.

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