Uzbekistan, Pakistan Eye China Trade Route Expansion

DID Press: Uzbekistan and Pakistan are moving to expand bilateral trade through transit routes via China, signaling Tashkent’s effort to diversify its regional trade corridors alongside its planned connectivity through Afghanistan.

Over the past year, Uzbekistan has strengthened economic engagement with Afghanistan and aims to nearly triple annual trade with the country in the coming years. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has also said his government is working closely with the Taliban on the proposed Trans-Afghan Railway, which is intended to facilitate Uzbek exports to Pakistani ports.

However, Pakistani media report that Tashkent and Islamabad have reached a preliminary agreement to expand trade through routes passing across China, bypassing Afghan territory. According to the reports, the two countries are expected to sign a protocol soon to formally establish the new transit arrangement.

The initiative comes as trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been disrupted by recurring border tensions, with repeated closures of key crossings affecting the movement of commercial cargo.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China are jointly constructing a railway that will connect China’s rail network with Central Asia, creating an additional route to Pakistani ports, although the project is expected to take several years to complete.

Kyrgyzstan has already tested an overland trade corridor to Pakistan through China and announced in July that it is seeking to establish a broader strategic partnership with Islamabad.