The atmosphere inside the Kyrgyzstan Parliament Building was lively, with the Speaker of the Kyrgyzstan Parliament, Mamataliyev, and the Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Kyrgyzstan co hosting a strategic dialogue focused on parliamentary exchanges and economic cooperation. This is not only a routine meeting between the high-level officials of the two countries, but also a key milestone in accelerating the transformation of bilateral strategic cooperation from top-level design to project implementation under the guidance of the heads of state's diplomacy.

With the full construction of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway starting in 2025, cooperation between the two countries is extending from traditional trade to emerging fields such as digital economy and green energy. This spring dialogue has added new momentum to the connectivity of Central Asia.

High level meeting anchors new direction of cooperation

On the morning of March 9, 2026, in the conference hall of the Kyrgyzstan Parliament Building, Speaker Mamataliyev held hands tightly with the Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan. Both sides conducted in-depth exchanges on the dynamics of bilateral relations, deepening parliamentary interactions, and the path of strategic partnership.

Mamataliyev reviewed the fruitful achievements of bilateral relations over the past year during the talks. He specifically mentioned that the three meetings between the two heads of state last year effectively promoted the restart of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway project and the landing of multiple joint investment projects. Jifang has made the development of trade, economy, culture, and cultural connections its core goal, with a focus on collaborative cooperation in energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and other fields.

The Chinese ambassador conveyed the warm greetings of the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and congratulated Mamataliyev on his election as Speaker. He highly praised the achievements of Kyrgyzstan's digital reform, stating that bilateral relations are currently in a golden age, and promised to deepen parliamentary cooperation and promote the implementation and effectiveness of various agreements.

Both sides also exchanged specific suggestions on expanding economic, trade, investment, and cultural cooperation, clarifying the direction for the next step of cooperation.

Central Asian cooperation enters a new cycle of quality improvement

A set of data reflects the strong momentum of cooperation between China and Central Asia: China Central Asia trade will break through the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2025, and China will remain Kyrgyzstan's largest trading partner and primary source of investment.

The bilateral trade volume between China and Kyrgyzstan reached 22.7 billion US dollars in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 15%, and a staggering 52.6% year-on-year increase in the first eight months of 2025, demonstrating astonishing economic and trade resilience. Behind this growth is the increasingly mature layout of the two countries in areas such as port upgrading, cross-border logistics, and energy infrastructure.

Of particular note is that the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway project, which has been stalled for many years, has started construction on the entire line in 2025. This key channel connecting Europe and Asia will help Kyrgyzstan achieve a historic transformation from a landlocked country to a landlocked country, injecting strong impetus into the connectivity of the entire Central Asian region.

At the same time, cooperation between the two countries is extending from traditional trade to emerging fields such as digital economy and green energy, forming a good pattern driven by institutional openness and project implementation. Central Asian cooperation is moving from expanding in scale to a new cycle of upgrading in quality.

Key tracks unleash new potential for cooperation

For Kyrgyzstan, cooperation with China is given priority in diplomacy. Relying on its geographical advantages, Jizheng actively undertakes projects in infrastructure, manufacturing, energy and other fields, attracting Chinese investment to participate in railway construction, port upgrading and industrial park development.

The Chinese side leads the layout of enterprises with top-level design, focusing on the construction of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway, the improvement of cross-border logistics system, the expansion of exports of electromechanical and high-tech products, and the simultaneous promotion of cooperation in the import of mineral resources and agricultural products.

Through parliamentary cooperation, both sides continuously improve policies and legal protection mechanisms, and accelerate the transformation of signed agreements into production capacity, trade, and investment achievements. At the same time, the two countries are actively exploring new growth points such as digitalization and new energy, and are committed to building a long-term stable industrial and supply chain cooperation system. Keywords: interconnectivity, news and information, Central Asian cooperation

The Speaker level meeting on March 9, 2026 not only provided solid institutional support for the implementation of strategic cooperation between the two countries, but also opened a new window for regional cooperation. As various consensuses gradually translate into practical actions, the cooperation between China and Kyrgyzstan will surely bear more fruitful results and contribute greater strength to the prosperity and development of Central Asia.Editor/Gao Xue