Trade between Kyrgyzstan and China grew by an impressing 44.7% in 2024 and reached $5.3 billion, with exports from Kyrgyzstan to China increasing to $2.04 billion, 93 times higher than in 2023, Deputy Chairman of the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers Bakyt Torobayev said during a meeting with a high-level delegation from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region earlier this month in Bishkek.
According to Torobayev, China remains one of Kyrgyzstan’s key partners and Kyrgyzstan pays special attention to intensifying economic cooperation with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The meeting focused on developing cooperation in the agricultural sector. In 2024, Kyrgyz-Chinese trade of agricultural products amounted to $153.3 million, $33 million more than the previous year. Kyrgyzstan is interested in increasing the export of its agricultural products to the Chinese market and seeks to sign four new protocols on the export of dried fruits, hides of cattle, heat-treated meat, and animal feed.
At the same time, the National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan has reported a decrease in the country’s foreign trade in January-May 2025.
Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade turnover amounted to $5.8 billion and decreased by 14.4% compared to January-May 2024. The country had a negative trade balance, with exports accounting for 14.5% and imports for 85.5% of the total.
In January-May 2025, exports decreased by 27.2%, amounting to $0.8 billion. Imports amounted to $4.9 billion and decreased by 11.7%.
The decrease in imports is due to a reduction in the volume of supplies of a wide range of goods, including cars, household appliances, equipment, and pharmaceuticals.
In January-May 2025, Kyrgyzstan’s trade with fellow members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia — amounted to $1.9 billion and decreased by 7.4% compared to the same period in 2024. Exports to the EAEU countries decreased by 29.8% and imports fell by 11.7%. The largest share of Kyrgyzstan’s mutual trade within the EAEU was with Russia (67.3%) and Kazakhstan (30.5%). Trade with the EAEU member states accounted for 32.2% of the total volume of Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade. Kyrgyzstan’s trade with all other countries (outside the EAEU) also decreased — by 17.3% — and amounted to $3.9 billion.
