By Li Qiang, People’s Daily
Central Asia serves as a globally significant arid agriculture region. By leveraging their natural resources and geographic advantages, Central Asian nations have implemented strategic policies in recent years to bolster agriculture development, enhance productivity, and expand agricultural exports.
Within this framework, China has steadily deepened agricultural cooperation with Central Asian countries, collaboratively advancing environmentally sustainable and green development practices.
A growing diversity of specialty products from Central Asia are now entering the Chinese market and gaining popularity among consumers, including Kazakhstan’s camel milk, Uzbekistan’s cherries, Tajikistan’s dried fruits, Kyrgyzstan’s honey, and Turkmenistan’s cotton.
Bilateral agricultural trade between China and Central Asian countries has experienced robust growth. Data shows that trade in agricultural products between China and the five Central Asian countries surged from $69 million in 2001 to $2.875 billion in 2023 – a 40-fold increase over two decades.
On May 21, China and Kazakhstan signed a new agreement permitting the entry of Kazakh poultry into the Chinese market. To date, over 2,500 Kazakh agricultural enterprises have secured authorization to export 29 categories of agricultural products to China.
Kazakhstan, endowed with abundant agricultural resources and robust production capacity, ranks among the world’s leading grain exporters. In 2024, bilateral agricultural trade between China and Kazakhstan reached $1.4 billion, a 10.5% year-over-year increase. Notably, Kazakhstan’s exports to China alone stood at $1.05 billion, with key commodities including animal feed, grains, oil crops, and vegetable oils. Impressive growth was observed in specific sectors: animal feed exports surged by 485%, vegetable oils rose by 26%, and rapeseed oil exports increased by 57%. In the first quarter of 2025, bilateral agricultural trade hit $430.5 million, marking a 45% increase year on year. China now serves as Kazakhstan’s largest market for agricultural exports, solidifying the strategic partnership between the two nations.
To streamline cross-border trade, China Customs has established 8 dedicated “green channels” for accelerated clearance of agricultural products from Central Asia, primarily facilitated through land ports. These measures provide robust logistical support for enhancing agricultural exports from Central Asian nations to China.
China is concurrently deepening agricultural science and technology partnerships with Central Asian countries under the frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Chinese enterprises and universities have collaborated with Central Asian countries to launch demonstration farms and technology centers, significantly improving the quality and yield of local agricultural output.
A notable example is Northwest A&F University, based in northwest China’s Shaanxi province, which has co-established 8 overseas agricultural technology demonstration parks with Kazakhstan, and other Central Asian countries. These facilities focus on joint efforts in crop breeding, water-saving irrigation systems, and soil enhancement technologies, thereby elevating regional agricultural productivity. Additionally, China provides onsite training programs, remote technical guidance, and capacity-building programs to empower agricultural professionals.
Professor Zhang Zhengmao of Northwest A&F University, who has conducted field research across 10 regions in Kazakhstan, highlighted the country’s agricultural potential. He noted Kazakhstan’s fertile soils and abundant sunlight – ideal for wheat cultivation – but emphasized that local wheat varieties often lack disease resistance and face issues of lodging. “This is precisely where Chinese agricultural research expertise can address regional challenges,” he stated.
To develop wheat varieties better adapted to Kazakhstan’s environmental conditions, Professor Zhang’s research team is collaborating with breeding institutions in China’s Gansu province and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. They employ a method called cross-regional shuttle breeding, systematically selecting and testing wheat strains across diverse ecological zones to enhance adaptability and productivity.
“Our trials demonstrate that the selected varieties exhibit marked improvements in grain count, kernel weight, and uniformity,” he noted.
The deputy general manager of Kazakhstan’s Aiju agro-processing and logistics park in Kazakhstan noted that Chinese high-yield wheat varieties have significantly boosted both output and quality of local crops. “The products are now exported to China and have gained strong market acceptance among Chinese consumers,” he added.
In Kyrgyzstan, the China-Kyrgyzstan fruit breeding technology demonstration park, also established by Northwest A&F University, is focusing on expanding increase apple production.
While apples are a staple fruit in Kyrgyzstan, their cultivation is hindered by the country’s hot, arid summers. Professor Zhang Dong of Northwest A&F University and his team, after nearly seven years of research, have developed rootstock-scion combinations through selective breeding. These hybrids outperform traditional seedlings in water efficiency, survival rate, and yield, increasing output by over 300 kilograms per mu (667 square meters).
“In Uzbekistan, we harnessed the abundant sunlight to introduce solar-powered sprinkler systems and smart irrigation technologies that integrate water and fertilizer delivery,” explained Professor Zhu Delan of Northwest A&F University.
This system replaced conventional flood irrigation, resulting in a 50% increase in cotton yields, a 50% reduction in water use, and a 40% cut in investment costs,” Professor Zhu revealed.
Kazakh Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov underscored China’s role as a vital and expanding market for agricultural exports from Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. He highlighted the tremendous potential for deepening agricultural cooperation between both sides, emphasizing mutual benefits in trade and technical exchange.
A Chinese wheat breeding expert from China’s Northwest A&F University (left) shares wheat management techniques for the seedling stage with a local agricultural technician in an experimental field in Kazakhstan. (Photo by Zhang Zhengmao)
