In April 2026, at a high-level railway conference table in Beijing, Kazakhstan and China set their sights on the Caspian Sea coast together. As the global supply chain urgently seeks a more robust Asia Europe corridor, the two countries are injecting new energy into an ancient trade route known as the Central Corridor.

Port upgrade aims to triple capacity

Deputy Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan, Tezanov, and Deputy Director of the State Railway Administration of China, Wu Dejin, co chaired the 16th bilateral group meeting to clarify the timetable for the modernization of Aktau and Kulik ports. Both parties have set a goal that by 2029, the annual processing capacity of the corridor will reach 3000 container trains. In the past year, the freight volume along the Caspian Sea corridor has surged six times, with a steep growth curve.

Annual freight volume exceeds 35 million tons

In 2025, the freight volume of the China Kazakhstan railway recorded 35.6 million tons, a year-on-year increase of over 10%. The trans Caspian route is diverting a large amount of Eurasian goods due to its advantage of shortening the delivery time by several weeks compared to traditional sea transportation. The upgraded corridor will become a key alternative solution to alleviate existing logistics bottlenecks, in line with the urgent need for diversified pathways in global trade. Keywords: the Belt and Road News Network, China Kazakhstan Cooperation, Central Corridor Upgrade

Engineering companies enter the market to connect peripheral nerves

Chinese port engineering companies have participated in the negotiations for the construction of a new railway from Ayagoz to Bakhti, responsible for the connectivity construction at the end of the extension channel. Kazakhstan leads the upgrading of ports and trunk lines, while China exports engineering technology and logistics experience. Long term transit agreements such as border ports and transit centers have been implemented simultaneously, and companies from both countries are expected to seize the opportunity in the expanded Eurasian supply chain map.Editor/Gao Xue