China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway expected to facilitate regional logistics

China

China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway expected to facilitate regional logistics

2025-06-15 20:03 Last Updated At：20:37

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, a major project under the Belt and Road Initiative that began construction this year, is expected to facilitate logistics between China and Central Asia, said a logistic provider from Uzbekistan.

Alex Jasur Mavlyanov, CEO of Shanghai CHK International Logistics, has spent the past decade helping to ship heavy equipment from China to Central Asia, with his business growing month by month.

"A lot of infrastructure is being built in central Asia, including Uzbekistan, so, we're trying to take on project logistics more," he said.

In 2018, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway was opened, which allowed Mavlyanov's company to transport in a more convenient way. But trucks also face challenges of unpredictability and delays.

"When the infrastructure, the roads are smooth and everything, it's fine. But unfortunately, when you use land transportation, it's seasonal. So for example, during winter time, there's heavy snow in central Asia, in the desert and there's a lot of unpredictability," he said.

With China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan Railway now under construction, Mavlyanov has high hopes for faster, more reliable shipping in the future.

"As a railway, it provides one thing definitely — the stability. It doesn't really matter, there's snow or rain. It doesn't stop, it just goes from A to B without any problems," he said.

The construction of the railway will not only boost trade between China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. It will also facilitate cargo transport to the other three Central Asian countries.

In 2024, China's trade with Central Asian nations reached some 94.8 billion US dollars, with large amounts of cargo shipped every day between the two sides.

Though the railway is expected to be completed in six years, Magliano's long-term plan of staying in China won't make the waiting time that difficult.

"I'm seeing my future here for the next at least 10, 15, 20 years and maybe we will make the company into Forbes, make it public very soon. That's the plan," he said.

Escalating Middle East tensions drive up energy prices, squeezing US consumers

Soaring oil prices triggered by escalating tensions in the Middle East have heightened U.S. inflation pressures, with analysts warning that households face hundreds of dollars in extra costs if crude climbs further.

Data released on Tuesday by the American Automobile Association (AAA) showed that the national average price of regular gasoline in the United States has risen 18.64 percent compared with Feb. 26. The AAA data also indicated that the national average price of diesel on Tuesday was up 22.85 percent from a week earlier.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at global ratings agency Moody's, warned that U.S. consumers are being threatened by a sharp rise in fuel prices. He said that if international oil prices climb by another 10 U.S. dollars per barrel, annual spending for an average U.S. household would increase by about 450 dollars.

Zandi noted that a surge in oil prices would intensify inflationary pressure in the United States, eroding consumers' purchasing power and weighing on consumption, economic growth, and employment.

Tensions sharply escalated across the Middle East on Feb 28 when the United States and Israel launched large-scale joint airstrikes on Iran. The Iranian side has responded with multiple waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. assets across the region, hitting many countries in the Gulf.