China’s National Energy Administration chief Wang Hongzhi visited Kazakhstan to attend the inaugural meeting of the Kazakhstan-China Joint Working Group on Cooperation in Civil Nuclear Energy, with participants approving a protocol defining the framework for future nuclear cooperation. The development follows Kazakhstan’s selection of China’s National Nuclear Corporation to build two large-scale reactors, while Russia’s Rosatom has separately been contracted to build Kazakhstan’s first nuclear plant on the shores of Lake Balkhash.
The nuclear meeting was one of several significant developments across the region reflecting China’s intensifying economic and institutional engagement with Central Asia.
In Kazakhstan, Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer Midea Group opened a representative office in Almaty, establishing a local operations team, warehouse complex and logistics hub to serve Central Asian markets directly rather than through third-party distributors. The China-Kazakhstan Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum in Astana saw the launch of the Jiangsu Province Center for Central Asia — a unified service hub for Chinese companies — alongside agreements to increase Kazakhstani wheat, meat and honey exports to Jiangsu Province.
In Kyrgyzstan, China’s Nerin Engineering was selected as chief contractor for development of the Togolok gold deposit, including construction of a processing plant and tailings facility, under the Kumtor Gold Company. The Kyrgyz National Investment Fund and Shenzhen Wuyou Technology also signed agreements to introduce electric scooters and charging infrastructure.
In Uzbekistan, Chinese company Zhongjin Guantai Industrial Development expressed intent to invest $2 billion in the mining sector, $1 billion in energy projects and $300 to $500 million in infrastructure and tourism. Uzbekistan’s state uranium producer Navoiyuran and China’s State Nuclear Uranium Resources Development agreed to establish a joint working group covering geological exploration and unconventional uranium deposit development. Uzeltekhsanoat Association and China’s Electronics Enterprises Association signed a memorandum on home appliance component production and Physical AI technologies, while separate Chinese agreements covered sustainable forestry, water-saving irrigation and agricultural investment.
In Tajikistan, Dangara State University signed an agreement to establish a Confucius Institute on campus. In Turkmenistan, China’s ambassador held discussions with parliamentarians about organising Chinese-led legislative seminars for MPs from across Central Asia.
