In the first five months of this year, trade between China and the five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — increased by 10.4% compared to the same period last year, reaching 286.42 billion yuan (approximately $39.91 billion), as reported by Turkmenistan’s official media on Tuesday.

According to the data, from January to May, China’s exports to Central Asian countries rose by 5.6% to 188.18 billion yuan. Meanwhile, China’s imports from the region grew by 21%, reaching 98.24 billion yuan.

A particularly notable increase was seen in imports of agricultural products from Central Asia, which reached 4.36 billion yuan — a 26.9% rise compared to the same period last year.

In addition, trade conducted via road transport increased to 43.65 billion yuan, up 10.9% compared to the previous year.