China’s trade turnover with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the largest economies in Central Asia, showed strong growth in the first half of 2026, as did trade with Tajikistan. China’s overall trade with the region showed a year-on-year increase of 6.5 percent, rising from $49,70 billion in the first half of 2025 to $52.94 billion during the same period this year. The balance of trade was lopsided in Beijing’s favor by a roughly 2-to-1 ratio: $34.94 billion to $18 billion. Like Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan’s trade with China declined, although by just 1 percent from $4.87 billion in H1 2025 to $4.82 billion during the first six months of this year. Imports grew from $641 million to $778 million over the same timeframe.