Central Asia

28 October 2025
Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent. Foreign investment is driving the country's economic growth. (Photo by Akira Takemura)
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was appointed as an advisor to the president of Kyrgyzstan on digital assets.
Cryptocurrencies

Kyrgyzstan launches national stablecoin in partnership with Binance

Changpeng Zhao, exchange's founder, says the digital coin is on the BNB Chain

26 October 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to host Central Asian leaders in November. (White House photo)
24 October 2025
A BYD Song SUV: The Chinese automaker and its peers are growing in Uzbekistan and beyond, but face a tough endurance test. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Electric vehicles

BYD, Chinese rivals rise in Uzbekistan but can't outrun price war

As Central Asian nation embraces EVs, unofficial dealers undercut brands

21 October 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attend a meeting in Tajikistan on Oct. 9. (Sputnik/pool via Reuters)
Ukraine war

Putin tells Azerbaijan's Aliyev how Russian defenses downed passenger jet

38 died after missiles detonated near plane; Putin pledges compensation for 2024 incident

10 October 2025
The international airport will be built in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, which is expected to see a continued rise in passenger traffic. (Photo by Akira Takemura)
Transportation

Uzbek airport project spotlights $1bn investment push by Japan's Sojitz

Trading house aims to build hospital, wind farm in region tilting toward West

2 October 2025
Companies, workers and investors worldwide are trying to understand what AI means for the labor market.
Technology

AI will be a 'real challenge' for employment: Chinese private equity CEO

Investors weigh concerns and opportunities as technology shakes up labor market

18 September 2025
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, left, met with Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov on Aug. 27 during a visit to Central Asia. (Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
International relations

Japan makes diplomatic push in resource-rich Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan

Foreign Minister Iwaya aims to make up for Tokyo's lagging presence in Central Asia

28 August 2025
Chinese companies funneled $44 billion into energy-related deals in countries aligned with the Belt and Road Initiative in the first half 2025, the highest since the initiative was launched in 2013.
Caixin

Record spending on Belt and Road targets energy and mineral resources

Funding by Chinese companies in 2025 is on pace to double last year's $122 billion

25 August 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Oct. 18, 2023. Hong Kong is being positioned as a hub for BRI-related financing.
Belt and Road

Hong Kong strengthens Belt and Road links amid US-China tensions

Uzbekistan's $1.68bn fund eyes listing as city courts emerging markets

11 August 2025
Kazakhstan estimates it will face a shortage of 6 gigawatts of energy by 2030.
Energy

Critics question Russia's ability to build Kazakh nuclear power plant

Worries swirl over Rosatom selection, as China's CNNC recruited for 2nd project

26 July 2025
A worker carries a bucket of water as he walks on railway tracks in Karachi, Pakistan. A plan by Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan to construct a railway link has raised questions about feasibility.
Transportation

New Central Asia-Pakistan rail plan faces funding, security issues

Landlocked Uzbekistan, Afghanistan to gain access to Pakistani ports under deal

25 July 2025
The flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is seen outside the country's embassy in Moscow after Russia recognized the Taliban government earlier this month.
International relations

Russia, China shake up Eurasian order with Taliban rapprochement

Asian powers eye partner to quash terrorism, secure transport routes

17 July 2025
Japanese companies are recruiting workers for a wide range of jobs, from manufacturing to services. (Photo by Rie Ishii)
Japan immigration

Japan looks beyond ASEAN to Uzbekistan, Bangladesh for more workers

Companies pivot to South and Central Asia as influx from Vietnam slows

17 July 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump released the first batch of letters on July 7 informing countries of the tariff rates their exports to the U.S. will face, starting Aug. 1.
Trump tariffs

Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea, Malaysia

Myanmar and Laos see 40% rate, among slew of levies to take effect Aug. 1

8 July 2025
Defense ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation nations meet in Qingdao, China, on June 26.
Opinion

China's SCO leadership is being tested by regional conflicts

Group coming under strain from internal fissures and external shocks

3 July 2025
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev pose for a picture at the China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on June 17. (Kazakh Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
International relations

Xi Jinping urges immediate de-escalation in Israel-Iran conflict

Chinese president in Kazakhstan as US tensions simmer and nearby wars spiral

17 June 2025
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks at the Astana International Forum on May 30. (Kazakhstan government)
Trade

Central Asian trade route stirs to life, drawing European investment

Middle Corridor grows in importance as alterative to Russia, Suez routes

14 June 2025
Sighnaghi, a hilltop wine town in the eastern Georgia's Kakheti region, offers tastings at family-run vineyards and strolls through cobbled streets lined with red-roofed homes. (All photos by Kalpana Sunder)
Destinations

Footloose in Georgia: On the trail of history

Turbulent past has left unique legacy in architecture, wine and cuisine

8 June 2025
Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, center, attends a ceremony in Astana, Kazakhstan, where low-cost carrier Vietjet signed a partnership with Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air to launch a new airline called Vietjet Qazaqstan. (Vietjet)
Business deals

Vietjet and Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air to launch new airline

Vietjet Qazaqstan is set to operate at least 20 Boeing 737 aircraft

6 May 2025
Central Asia is among the regions that China is courting in response to the Trump tariffs. (Screenshot from the website of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Trade

China, Central Asian nations agree to forge broader trade ties

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and others join with Beijing against 'unilateral' protectionism

27 April 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, is due to meet with Kenyan counterpart William Ruto, left, and Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev a week after he toured Southeast Asia, tightening Beijing's ties with developing countries. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
International relations

China woos trade war 'circle of friends' as Kenya, Azerbaijan leaders visit

Xi Jinping's outreach comes as U.S. wields tariffs and reins in aid

22 April 2025
Users of PayPay's partner platforms can pay at stores in Japan by scanning a QR code. (Photo by Satoko Kawasaki) 
Technology

Japan's PayPay ties up with BigPay, 3 more digital payment platforms

Service expands global partnerships with eye on inbound tourists

15 April 2025
Leaders of the five Central Asian countries meet with European Union leaders in Uzbekistan on April 4. (Uzbekistan's Presidential Press Office via AP)
International relations

Central Asia border deals open door for Japan to strengthen ties

Historic agreements settle instability in resource-rich region

14 April 2025
Scenes from Almaty: The capital of Kazakhstan until 1997, the city's Silk Road and European influences still echo in its architecture, cuisine and cultural traditions. (All photos by Kalpana Sunder)
Destinations

Footloose in Almaty: Kazakhstan's cultural capital

Picturesque city where the nomadic steppes meet modern Europe

12 April 2025
People walk outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on March 18, 2025. 
Opinion

The U.N. must not be abandoned

The international community must support and strengthen multilateral institutions

4 April 2025
The first EU-Central Asia Summit is taking place in Samarkand. (Nikkei montage)
International relations

EU hopes to sway Central Asia in first interregional summit

Russia, China loom over Samarkand talks on security, trade, energy

3 April 2025
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev meet in Khujand, Tajikistan, on March 31 with an eye on expanding regional trade. (Photos by Reuters)
International relations

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to hold 1st trilateral summit

A border agreement involving the fertile Fergana Valley to be formalized

31 March 2025
Unskilled migrants in South Korea often work in the agricultural sector.
Immigration

Uzbeks flock to South Korea even as economy weakens

Hard-to-enter East Asian country provides better pay, more opportunities than Russia

16 March 2025
A giant AFC Asian Cup trophy is displayed before the semi-final match between Iran and hosts Qatar in Doha on Feb. 7, 2024.
Sports

The six-horse race to host soccer's Asian Cup in 2031

A joint Central Asian bid will battle Kuwait, Indonesia, the UAE, South Korea and Australia

16 March 2025