Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and China sideline Russia

Two former Soviet republics in Central Asia – Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan – have agreed with China to build a railway to Europe bypassing Russia.

The agreement on the project, which Beijing, Bishkek and Tashkent have been discussing for 27 years, was signed by the three parties on June 6 in Beijing, and construction is expected to begin in October.

It is a project that started as an idea from the 1990s and will cost the amount of 8 billion US dollars

The railway will become part of China’s global One Belt, One Road initiative.

“Experts note that the annual volume of cargo transportation will reach 15 million tons, and the time of delivery of goods to final consumers will be reduced by 7 days. In addition, a modern transit and logistics infrastructure, warehouses and terminals will be created,” said President of Uzbekistan Savkat Mirziyoyev.

The road will run from Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region through Torugart, Makmal and Jalal-Abad in Kyrgyzstan to Andijan in Uzbekistan.

The highway will then connect with the roads of other Central Asian countries, from where cargo will go to the Caspian Sea, Turkey and Europe.

China will own 51%

On June 19, the parliament of Kyrgyzstan, through whose territory the main part of the route will pass, ratified an agreement with China and Uzbekistan on the construction of the road.

A joint project company (JPC) will be established to build the Kyrgyz section of the highway between the countries. China will own 51% of it, and Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will each receive 24.5%.

The 525-kilometer line will run from the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, through southwestern Kyrgyzstan, to Andijon in eastern Uzbekistan.

It is a project that started as an idea from the 1990s and will cost the amount of 8 billion US dollars. It is of strategic importance to China, as it will reduce the time it takes to transport goods from China to Europe and the Persian Gulf.

The three countries had signed a memorandum for the railway in 1997, but technical and mainly geopolitical issues prevented it.

Russia, which regards Central Asia as its doorstep, was not at all enthusiastic about the railway.

With the war in Ukraine, however, the balance of power with China has shifted. Because of Western sanctions, Russia is increasingly dependent on China for trade, so the Kremlin gave the go-ahead.

“Economic stimulus”

At the signing ceremony in Beijing, with the three presidents linked by video conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the agreement as a “show of determination”.

“The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is a strategic project for China’s connectivity with Central Asia and a landmark project for the three countries to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative,” Xi said.

For the Chinese leader, such a project will benefit the three countries and their peoples and boost the region’s economic and social development.

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