In September 2025, the Tashgan Anhor Exhibition Center was crowded with people. 211 Sichuan enterprises brought 872 exhibits including mechanical equipment, digital economy, and characteristic light industry across mountains and seas. Over 20000 professional visitors entered the venue for negotiations within three days, with an intended transaction volume of 260 million yuan. After the lively atmosphere ended, a practical problem was presented to both sides: the exhibition only lasted for three days, with over three hundred days left, how can business continue?

The answer surfaced on October 14, 2026.

From exhibition to platform

The Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce and the Sichuan Council for the Promotion of International Trade delegation met in Tashkent on the same day. After the meeting, the Ukrainian side issued a statement agreeing to establish a digital enterprise to enterprise platform, allowing enterprises from both regions to connect online at any time; At the same time, it has been decided to organize Uzbekistan entrepreneurs to visit Sichuan for business in 2027, and to explore participating in international exhibitions in Chengdu and Nanchong.

The attendees include Sherzod Ibrahim, Vice Chairman of the Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jamil Maksudi, Advisor to the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as Li Xuezhe, Minister of International Relations of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and representatives from the Nanchong Branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Nanchong Municipal Bureau of Commerce.

From three-day exhibitions to year-round online, what has changed is not the form but the cost. In the past, when Sichuan enterprises sought partners from the Ukrainian side and Ukrainian merchants sought suppliers from China, they mostly relied on chance encounters at exhibitions and introductions from acquaintances; Once the platform is operational, the supply and demand list, qualifications, and quotations can all be settled, and the threshold for small and medium-sized enterprises to go global will be lowered accordingly.

6200 Enterprises Underlay

Behind the acceleration lies a solid foundation. China has maintained its position as Uzbekistan's largest trading partner and largest source of investment and financing for several consecutive years, with a bilateral trade volume of 16.096 billion US dollars by 2025. During the talks, the Ukrainian side revealed that there are currently over 6200 Chinese funded enterprises operating in Ukraine, accounting for nearly 30% of its total foreign-funded enterprises and firmly ranking first among all countries.

The focus of the talks is on expanding trade and investment cooperation in agricultural products, cotton, and other commodities. On one side are Uzbekistan's cotton, fruits and vegetables, and early maturing cherries, while on the other side are Sichuan's tea, seasoning, silk, and equipment manufacturing, with complementarity written in the industrial structure. Previously, Leshan tea enterprises went to Tashkent for a special promotion, and Nanchong enterprises also received intention orders for silk products at the Central Asia exhibition. The scattered trial water is being replaced by institutionalized channels.

New opportunities in Tashkent

Both sides also mentioned the progress of transportation links and educational cooperation between the two countries, and listed the new Tashkent development project as a potential area of concern for Chinese investors.

This new city, known as the largest urban development plan in Uzbekistan's history, has a total planned project amount of 50 billion US dollars in the first phase alone. In October of this year, seven facilities with a total value of 1 billion US dollars were put into use at once, and ten new projects with a total value of 2.5 billion US dollars were launched. After the completion of the supporting China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway, the freight mileage from China to Europe and the Middle East will be shortened by about 900 kilometers, and the transportation time will be saved by 7 to 8 days; Education projects such as the Silk Road High speed Railway Workshop, Central Asia Railway Academy, and Luban Workshop have also been implemented one after another, to reserve local technical talents for the channel.

In 2027, China and Ukraine will also celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. From a meeting in Tashkent, to an online platform, to a business delegation scheduled for next year, the road of Sichuan's westward opening-up is gradually becoming a norm.Editor/Yang Meiling