Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
CHENGDU, June 18 (Xinhua) — A pavilion of Kazakh goods located in Qingbaijiang District of Chengdu City, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, displays various food products imported from the Central Asian country, including milk powder, chocolate, candy, flour, vegetable oil and biscuits.
“If previously cargo transportation between China and Central Asia was carried out by traditional camel caravans, now these camels have become ‘steel’,” noted the head of the pavilion, Ren Jianhong, referring to the trains running along the international railway cargo transportation routes between China and the Central Asian states.
In April 2025, the first scheduled freight train departed from Chengdu to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on the Chengdu-Central Asia railway route, and in May, a regular public freight train was officially launched between the two points.
Freight trains cross the border at the Khorgos checkpoint in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region /Northwest China/ and arrive in Tashkent. The total length of the route is 4,853 km.
“Chengdu is a hub city for international rail freight routes between China and Central Asia. Thanks to their emergence, the delivery time for goods has been reduced to 10 days, and logistics costs have been reduced by 5-10 percent,” Ren Jianhong explained.
According to the Chengdu International Railway Port Economic Development Zone Administration, there are regular trains departing from Chengdu on China-Central Asia routes. These routes cover countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
With the help of these “steel camels,” more and more Central Asian delicacies are becoming available to Chinese consumers, including chocolate oatmeal from Kazakhstan, flaxseed oil from Tajikistan, dried fruits from Turkmenistan, dairy products from Uzbekistan, and honey from Kyrgyzstan.
In addition, in order to promote the development of agricultural and food trade, China has opened 8 “green channels” for fast customs clearance of agricultural and by-products from Central Asian countries.
According to the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, in the first five months of this year, China’s foreign trade with the five Central Asian countries increased by 10.4 percent year-on-year to 286.42 billion yuan (about 39.86 billion US dollars), reaching a new historical maximum. In particular, in January-May of this year, the volume of agricultural imports from the five Central Asian countries to China amounted to 4.36 billion yuan, which is 26.9 percent more than a year earlier. -0-