There has been intensive practical development of the transport and logistics component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Central Asia this year. This marks both an expansion of China’s transport access to the region and a strengthening of the Central Asian states’ position in continental logistics between East and West.

The latest milestone was the test run of a container train travelling from China to Iran via Uzbekistan. This marked the first shipment dispatched along this new route by JSC Uzemiryulkonteyner. Departing from Chengxiang Station, the train crosses the China–Kazakhstan border and continues through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It is scheduled to arrive in Iran via the Sarakhs border crossing in two weeks.

Since 2025, a rail link has been in operation between Xi’an in China and the dry port of Aprin, near Tehran. Although Uzbekistan was not initially part of this supply chain, the country actively participating in regular meetings between the heads of the six countries’ railway administrations. A notable outcome of this cooperation is the Xi’an-Aprin trade route, along which block trains now operate regularly. The parties are also developing the China-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Turkey/EU transcontinental route. The Southern Railway Corridor is the central component of this project and is designed to ensure uninterrupted land transport links between major Asian and European markets.

Taken together, these trends are part of the long-term strategy to promote the China-Europe Railway Express Economic Corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative. The expansion of the freight route network linking various regions of China and Central Asia should also be viewed in this context.

Since early 2026, several regular and test block trains have been launched from industrial and economic centers in China, such as Chongqing, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hubei and Xining, bound for Central Asia, with the potential to extend into Iran and beyond.

Notably, an increasing volume of freight is now travelling to Uzbekistan via the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan route, which highlights the growing importance of Kyrgyz transit in strengthening regional connectivity. In 2025, 1.8 million tons of freight were transported via the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan multimodal transport corridor, compared with approximately 34,000 tons in 2020. Chinese cargo from Central Asia can also be redirected to other markets, such as Afghanistan.

Clearly, given China’s growing demand for overland trade routes, Central Asia’s transformation into a key Eurasian transit hub is set to continue. The region thus gains a valuable asset that can strengthen its influence in global geopolitics and serve as a cornerstone for economic growth. More broadly, this could pave the way for strategic autonomy by uniting the five republics in the pursuit of an independent, coordinated transport policy, thereby laying the foundations for more equal relations with major powers.

* The Institute for Advanced International Studies (IAIS) does not take institutional positions on any issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IAIS.