Eurasianet reported on July 26 that China’s General Administration of Customs (GTU) has released trade data for the first half of 2023 involving Central Asian nations, and to no one’s surprise Turkmenistan is the only one of the five with a favorable trade balance with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Overall, China has reportedly exported about US$26.4 billion in goods to Central Asia over the first six months of this year, while registering almost US$13.5 billion in imports, led by oil and natural gas.

According to Eurasianet, Uzbekistan so far is the only Central Asian state to post trade statistics for the H1 2023 period.

In keeping with a trend, the Uzbek figures diverge from China’s.  According to the GTU, trade turnover with Uzbekistan increased by 26.8 percent compared to the same period in 2022, reaching almost US$6.1 billion.  Chinese exports to Uzbekistan reportedly totaled about US$5.46 billion, while imports amounted to roughly US$629 million.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency reported about US$5.26 billion in trade turnover, with Uzbekistan importing US$4.23 billion in Chinese goods and services, and exports to China totaling roughly US$1.03 billion.

The GTU trade figures reportedly show sharp increases in China’s H1 commerce with other Central Asian states, compared to the same period in 2022:

- Kazakhstan: trade turnover rose by 26.8 percent to US$18.25 billion; exports to Kazakhstan reached $10.63 billion, imports $7.62 billion.

- Kyrgyzstan: turnover increased by 27.6 percent to US$7.92 billion; exports to the Kyrgyz Republic totaled $7.89 billion, imports $26 million.

- Tajikistan: turnover skyrocketed 84.7 percent to US$2.11 billion; exports to Tajikistan hit US$1.96 billion, imports $152 million.

- Turkmenistan: turnover rose by 12.3 percent to $5.55 billion; exports to Turkmenistan measured US$476 million, imports $5.076 billion, of which gas supplies accounted for $5.058 billion.