Why Central Asia Remains an Underrated Overseas Market

When talking about going global, businesses tend to prioritize Europe, America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, while seldom putting Central Asia high on the list. Such perception is seriously out of touch with reality.

Central Asia has evolved into a core market for Chinese products, brands and industrial standards.

We divide Chinese enterprises’ expansion into Central Asia into three phases with real cases, covering major players, business layouts, profits gained, practical pitfalls and future prospects.

Phase 1: State-owned Energy & Infrastructure Enterprises (Since 2000)

1. CNPC: Core Operator of China’s Oil & Gas Layout in Central Asia

As China’s earliest and most influential strategic player in the region, CNPC executes national energy strategies comprehensively.

By 2024, CNPC’s total investment in Central Asia has exceeded 45 billion US dollars, boasting annual equity crude output of 30 million tons and equity natural gas output of over 40 billion cubic meters, standing among the largest foreign energy investors in the region.

2. Sinopec: Differentiated Industrial Layout

Unlike CNPC’s all-round layout, Sinopec focuses more on downstream refining and engineering services.

3. CRCC & CREC: Backbone of Central Asian Infrastructure Construction

The two major railway state-owned enterprises dominate railway, highway and tunnel projects across the region.

4. State Grid & China Southern Power Grid

5. NFC: Representative of Chinese Non-ferrous Metal Enterprises

Phase 2: Consumer Brands & Manufacturing Industries (Since 2013)

Following the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, private enterprises focusing on trade, light industry, consumer electronics and auto parts began to enter Central Asia in batches.

1. Huawei: Builder of Central Asia’s Digital Infrastructure

A hidden market leader across the region, Huawei has built core communication networks for major local telecom operators in all five Central Asian states.

Huawei employs over 3,000 staff in Central Asia with a local employee ratio above 70%. Despite impacts from US sanctions, its brand influence keeps rising in Russian-speaking regions. Huawei Cloud and data storage products are widely adopted in local government digital transformation.

ZTE has established comprehensive business presence and gained advantages in smart metering and security monitoring fields.

3. BYD, Geely, Chery & Great Wall Motors: New Leaders of Central Asian Auto Market

Chinese automakers have achieved remarkable market breakthroughs in the past five years.

Overall Data: Chinese brands account for around 35% of total new car sales and over 70% of new energy vehicle sales in Central Asia. Young local consumers show far higher acceptance of Chinese electric vehicles than people in Europe and America.

4. Chinese Mobile Phone Brands: Dominating the Local Market

Central Asia ranks among the most successful overseas markets for Chinese smartphones.

5. Home Appliance Enterprises: Localized Market Expansion

Driven by Uzbekistan’s cotton industry reform, leading Chinese textile enterprises accelerate local layout.

Phase 3: Digital Economy & Cross-border E-commerce (Since 2020)

Digital-native industries including cross-border e-commerce, digital payment, short video platforms and SaaS services have become emerging mainstream players in recent years.

1. Temu: Rising Star of Central Asian Cross-border E-commerce

After entering the Russian market in 2023, Temu rapidly expanded into Central Asia via transit trade through Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

2. AliExpress: Time-honored Leading E-commerce Platform

As the earliest well-known Chinese e-commerce brand in Russian-speaking regions, AliExpress boasts stable user groups with annual GMV exceeding 1 billion US dollars in Central Asia in 2024, despite slowing growth impacted by emerging competitors.

3. Shein: Fast Fashion Giant Penetrating Local Markets

Shein is the preferred fast fashion brand among young female consumers in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, with its annual regional GMV surpassing 500 million US dollars in 2024.

4. TikTok: High-penetration Content Platform

5. WeChat & WeChat Pay: Essential Infrastructure for Chinese Enterprises

Widely used by overseas Chinese communities and Chinese-funded enterprise employees in Central Asia; gradually interconnected with mainstream local payment platforms to facilitate daily business communication and capital settlement.

6. Lark & ByteDance Cloud: Overseas Expansion of Enterprise SaaS Services

Lark is adopted by numerous Chinese-funded enterprises for internal office management; BytePlus provides cloud computing and big data technical services for local government and enterprises.

7. In-depth Cooperation with Local Platform Kaspi.kz

As Kazakhstan’s leading local internet enterprise, Kaspi.kz serves as a core partner for Chinese brands to land in Central Asia, supporting payment settlement, commodity sales and cross-border logistics services.

After China tightened regulations on cryptocurrency mining in 2021, massive mining equipment and computing power shifted to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, leaving abundant data center resources that lay a foundation for future local AI industry development.

Translation services, open-source large language models, facial recognition solutions, intelligent voice technology and other AI products independently developed by Chinese tech firms are gaining wider application scenarios in Central Asia’s education, government affairs and smart city construction fields.

Case 1: BYD Local Production Base in Uzbekistan

Background: The local auto market was long dominated by Korean brands with insufficient supply of new energy vehicles. The Uzbek government actively introduced Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers amid the global electric vehicle boom.

Development Process: Official cooperation agreements signed in 2023; mass production launched in the same year; multiple preferential tax policies granted by local authorities.

Significance: Central Asia’s first large-scale localized new energy vehicle production base sets an industry benchmark and accelerates the spillover of China’s complete automobile industrial chain.

Existing Challenges: Difficulties in localized supply chain matching, long employee training cycles and product adaptation to extreme local climatic conditions.

Case 2: Huawei Safe City Project in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Background: Surging demands for public security and traffic management after Uzbekistan opened up comprehensively.

Achievements: Over 30,000 intelligent monitoring cameras and AI management systems deployed, effectively reducing traffic accident rates and urban crime rates, with mature business models replicated across multiple Central Asian cities.

Case 3: Temu’s Market Expansion in Kazakhstan

Core Advantages: Leveraging EAEU tariff preferences, optimizing Russian-language user experience and improving overseas warehouse distribution efficiency win wide recognition among local consumers.

Core Experience: Logistics, payment and after-sales service are the three core bottlenecks restricting cross-border e-commerce development, which must be solved via in-depth localization.

Case 4: Zhengzhou-Tashkent China-Europe Freight Train Route

Development Trend: Rapid growth in freight volume in recent years greatly shortening international transportation cycles; realizing two-way trade circulation of Chinese manufactured goods and Central Asian local specialty products.

Strategic Value: Turning Central Asia from a mere transit hub into an important destination for foreign trade, linking central and western China with South Asia and the Middle East more efficiently.

Case 5: Zijin Mining’s Gold Mine Investment in Tajikistan

Operational Experience: Long-term deep cooperation with local governments, sufficient investment in environmental protection and community construction, and independent improvement of supporting infrastructure are the keys to stable operation of overseas mineral investment projects.

Universal Experience & Lessons for Central Asia Market Expansion

Central Asia: An Underrated Neighboring Emerging Market

While Chinese enterprises face growing tariff barriers, political frictions and cultural conflicts in Southeast Asia, North America and Europe, Central Asia’s strategic value as China’s land neighbor, core Russian-speaking market and foundational Belt and Road market is being rediscovered.

With a total population of 80 million, Central Asia boasts tremendous radiating influence: it connects the 190-million population market of the Eurasian Economic Union, links South Asia with over 200 million people via the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, and serves as a vital hub connecting the Caucasus, Turkey and Europe.

Central Asia is a brand-new blue ocean market for Chinese global enterprises. Early entrants including CNPC, Huawei and BYD have reaped substantial returns. In the next decade, Central Asia will complete the transformation from an energy and infrastructure-dominated region to a consumption and digital economy-driven market, presenting an irresistible historic opportunity for Chinese enterprises.

为什么中亚是被低估的出海市场

讨论"出海"，大家第一反应通常是欧美、中东、东南亚，很少有人把中亚放在优先级前列。但这种认知已经严重滞后于现实。

•2024年中国与中亚五国贸易额：约948亿美元，比2013年（"一带一路"提出之年）增长接近4倍；

•中国对中亚累计直接投资：超过400亿美元；

•中国是哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、塔吉克斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦的第一或第二大贸易伙伴；

•中欧班列每年过中亚约9000-10000列，占总数的70%以上；

•中亚新能源汽车市场，中国品牌份额超过30%，远高于欧美市场；

•哈萨克斯坦智能手机市场，中国品牌（小米、OPPO、realme、vivo、华为）合计份额超过65%。

中亚已经是中国产品、中国品牌、中国标准的"主场市场"。

接下来，我们将把中国企业出海中亚的故事分为三个阶段，用具体的案例聊一聊：谁在这里、做了什么、赚了多少、踩过什么坑、未来还有哪些机会。

第一代：能源与基建央企（2000 ——）

1. 中石油（CNPC）：中亚油气布局的总操盘手

中石油是中国在中亚最早、最重的战略玩家，它是国家能源战略的执行主体。

•哈萨克PK石油公司收购：2005年，中石油以41.8亿美元收购加拿大PK石油公司，获得其在哈萨克的油田和管道资产，是当时中国企业最大海外并购之一；

•阿克纠宾油田：哈萨克西部重要油田，中石油控股；

•曼格什套石油：2006年，中石油联合哈萨克国家石油公司收购，形成大型生产基地；

•卡沙甘油田：2013年，中石油以50亿美元从美国康菲公司接手了卡沙甘油田8.33%的股权，这是世界级的超大海上油田；

•中哈原油管道：2003年开工，2006年正式通油，是中国第一条跨国原油管道，年设计输送能力2000万吨；

•中亚天然气管道A、B、C线：2007-2014年陆续建成，年输送能力550亿立方米；

•土库曼加尔金内什气田开发：中石油是加尔金内什气田一期、二期、三期的主要工程总承包商，投入超过80亿美元；

•乌兹别克天然气勘探开发：乌兹别克南部、西部多个勘探区块。

截至2024年，中石油在中亚累计投资超过450亿美元，拥有原油产量权益约3000万吨/年、天然气产量权益超过400亿立方米/年，是中亚最大的外资能源企业之一。

•哈萨克"资源民族主义"风波：2007-2012年，哈萨克政府多次修改油气法，重新分配外资与国家石油公司的股权，中石油经过艰苦谈判保留了核心资产；

•地缘政治平衡：中石油在中亚运营必须同时处理与美国油气巨头（雪佛龙、埃克森）、俄罗斯卢克石油、欧洲埃尼壳牌等的合作关系；

•本地化压力：哈萨克法律要求中资项目本地员工比例至少85%，中石油通过职业培训学校和长期本土化运营才达到要求。

2. 中石化（Sinopec）：差异化的中亚布局

相对中石油的"大而全"，中石化在中亚更聚焦下游炼化和工程服务：

•哈萨克阿特劳炼油厂改造项目（2009-2017）：中石化集团下属中石化炼化工程（SEG）承建，总投资约22亿美元，改造后为哈萨克国内最大炼油厂；

•天然气勘探合作：与哈萨克国家石油公司合资开发部分气田。

3. 中铁建与中铁（CRCC、CREC）：中亚基建的骨干

两大铁路央企是中亚铁路、公路、隧道工程的主力：

•卡姆奇克隧道（乌兹别克）：2016年通车，19.2公里长的山区铁路隧道，由中铁隧道局集团承建，是中亚最长铁路隧道，连接塔什干和费尔干纳盆地；这是乌兹别克从"被山阻断的国家"变成内部畅通的国家的关键工程；

•安格连—帕普铁路（乌兹别克）：与卡姆奇克隧道配套；

•杜尚别—丹加拉公路（塔吉克）、南北公路（吉尔吉斯）：中铁和中国路桥（CRBC）联合承建；

•阿拉木图—霍尔果斯高速公路（哈萨克）；

•中吉乌铁路：2024年底开工，中国段由中铁建集团为主承担。

4. 国家电网（State Grid）与南方电网

•吉尔吉斯—乌兹别克电网互联项目：中国帮助建设中亚电网互联基础设施；

•500kV超高压电网：为中亚国家提供设备和施工；

•智能电网：为哈萨克斯坦提供部分配电自动化设备。

5. 中色股份（NFC）：中亚有色金属出海的代表

•塔吉克金矿收购：参股多个金矿；

6. 葛洲坝集团（CGGC）：水电与基建

•塔吉克罗贡水电站：部分设备供应；

这一代出海以央企为主、以资源和基础设施为主、以G2G（政府对政府）模式为主。特点是：

•规模大、回报周期长（10-30年）；

•高度政治化，与"一带一路"国家战略深度绑定；

•融资主要来自国家开发银行、进出口银行；

•本地化进展缓慢，技术和管理人员主要从国内派出；

•风险以政治风险（政变、政策变化）和汇率风险为主。

第二代：消费品牌与制造业（2013 ——）

2013年"一带一路"倡议提出后，中国民营和消费端企业开始有组织地进入中亚。这一代以贸易、轻工、消费电子、汽车零部件为主。

1. 华为：中亚数字化基础设施的底层建造者

华为在中亚是个"隐形冠军"——不像在欧洲那样高调，但几乎承建了中亚五国主要电信运营商的核心网络。

•哈萨克：KazakhTelecom、Kcell、Beeline Kazakhstan的4G/5G核心网；

•乌兹别克：Uzbektelecom、Ucell、Beeline Uzbekistan的网络升级；

•吉尔吉斯：MegaCom、Beeline、O!的设备供应；

•土库曼：Altyn Asyr、阿什哈巴德"智慧城市"项目。

华为在中亚员工估计超过3000人，本地员工比例超过70%（管理和销售以本地为主，技术以中方为主）。近年来华为受到美国制裁冲击，但在中亚（尤其俄语区）品牌形象反而增强。Huawei Cloud、华为存储产品在中亚政府数字化中广泛应用。

2. 中兴（ZTE）：华为的"第二极"

ZTE在中亚也有广泛布局，并在部分领域（如智能计量、安全监控）与华为形成差异化：

•土库曼阿什哈巴德智能灯杆项目。

3. 比亚迪、吉利、奇瑞、长城：中亚汽车市场的新主人

这是过去5年中亚最显著的中国企业出海故事。

•2023年与乌兹别克UzAuto Motors合资建厂，生产宋PLUS DM-i、海豚、元等新能源车型；

•2024年在乌兹别克新能源车市场份额突破30%；

•2024年在哈萨克斯坦设立整车组装项目，与Astana Motors合作。

•哈萨克—吉利合作，在阿斯塔纳组装嘉际、博越；

•白俄罗斯合资的"别拉斯—吉利"工厂通过欧亚经济联盟零关税进入哈萨克、吉尔吉斯；

•2024年成为哈萨克新车销量第二大中国品牌。

•2023年与乌兹别克UzAuto签署合作协议；

•瑞虎7、瑞虎8在中亚广受欢迎；

•2024年在中亚五国新车销量中排名中国品牌第一。

长城（Great Wall，包括哈弗、欧拉、坦克）：

•哈弗H6、哈弗Jolion是中亚SUV市场畅销车型；

•在哈萨克、乌兹别克、吉尔吉斯都有完整销售渠道。

江淮（JAC）：是中亚最早的中国汽车品牌，哈萨克工厂已运营多年。

整体数据：2024年中国品牌在中亚新车销量约占35%，在新能源车市场占比超过70%。中亚年轻消费者对中国电动车的接受度远高于欧美市场。

4. 小米、OPPO、vivo、realme、荣耀、华为：手机品牌的胜利

中亚是中国手机品牌海外最成功的市场之一：

•哈萨克斯坦智能手机市场：2024年中国品牌（小米、OPPO、realme、vivo、华为、荣耀）合计份额超过65%；

•乌兹别克斯坦：中国品牌份额接近70%；

•吉尔吉斯斯坦：中国品牌份额超过75%；

•塔吉克斯坦：中国品牌份额超过80%。

Land neighbors, the fundamental foundation of the Belt and Road Initiative, with striking regional radiation influence, an unmissable historic opportunity for Chinese enterprises.

陆上邻居，一带一路基本盘，周边辐射能力惊人，中国企业不能错过的历史机会

Chinese Enterprises Expanding into Central Asia: Three Waves & 20 Real Cases

中国企业出海中亚：三代浪潮与20个真实案例

You can travel to Kazakhstan with ease — visa-free entry, direct flights to Almaty, even a weekend coffee trip is effortless.

Visiting Uzbekistan is equally convenient — visa-free access, direct flights to Tashkent, and easy trips to explore Samarkand.

Kyrgyzstan is simple to reach too — straightforward visa procedures and comfortable accommodation in Bishkek.

Tajikistan requires more paperwork, yet entry is still manageable.

But traveling to Turkmenistan is extraordinarily difficult.

It ranks among the world’s hardest countries to obtain a visa, barely easier than the DPRK and Eritrea. Tourists must apply via official travel agencies, be accompanied by state-appointed guides throughout their stay, stay in designated hotels, face restrictions on free photography, and have access to most social media platforms blocked, including Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube and all VPN services. In 2023, Reporters Without Borders listed Turkmenistan as one of the three worst countries globally for press freedom, on par with the DPRK and Eritrea.

Despite its extreme isolation, it stands as one of China’s most vital energy partners. Since 2009, Turkmenistan has exported over 350 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China, making it China’s largest single-source natural gas supplier. A large share of China’s household gas, industrial fuel and West-East Gas Transmission supply originates here.

This nation is full of stark contradictions. It boasts staggering energy resources with the world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves yet only maintains a mid-tier per capita GDP. It enforces rigid political seclusion while embracing full openness in energy trade. It features a homogeneous population and stable society yet operates an elite political system shrouded in mystery. While national leader worship reaches absurd heights, its diplomatic strategies with major global powers remain shrewd and pragmatic.

Geography: Karakum Desert and Caspian Oil & Gas Reserves

Covering around 491,000 square kilometres, Turkmenistan is Central Asia’s second-largest country, roughly the size of California in the United States. Some 80% of its territory is occupied by the Karakum Desert, meaning "Black Desert", one of the driest regions across Central Asia.

Darvaza Gas Crater, the Door to Hell: A burning natural gas pit located deep in the Karakum Desert. Ignited after a Soviet drilling accident in 1971, it has kept burning continuously to this day. With a diameter of about 70 metres, it has become a world-famous scenic spot. The incumbent president issued an order to extinguish the flames in 2022, yet the fire still rages on.

Turkmenistan has an extreme climate. Summer temperatures can soar to 50°C, while northern areas plunge to minus 20°C in winter. Annual precipitation is extremely low, ranging only from 100 to 200 millimetres, with many regions recording less than 100 millimetres.

Bordered by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Iran to the south, and facing the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijan and Russia across the waters to the west.

The capital Ashgabat sits at the northern foot of the Kopet Dag Mountains with a population of roughly one million. Nicknamed the world’s most surreal capital, nearly the entire city is built with white marble, holding the Guinness World Record for having the highest concentration of white marble architecture globally. It features wide tree-lined avenues, sparse pedestrians and almost no commercial billboards. At night, grand presidential palaces, national museums and new opera houses glow with golden lights, resembling an uninhabited movie set.

History: From Turkmen Tribes to a Soviet Desert Republic

The Turkmen people are a Turkic-speaking nomadic ethnic group originating from the Oghuz tribal alliance dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries, sharing ethnic roots with the Seljuk Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Between the 11th and 12th centuries, Turkmen clans including the Teke, Yomut, Salar, Charuk and Ersari scattered to herd livestock across oases in the Karakum Desert.

From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Turkmen tribes remained fragmented without unified statehood. Renowned for elite cavalry troops, they were frequent rivals of neighbouring kingdoms in Iran and Central Asia.

Russian Conquest and the Geok Tepe Massacre

In January 1881, Russian imperial troops slaughtered 7,000 to 15,000 Turkmen resistants including civilians in the Battle of Geok Tepe, marking Russia’s full annexation of Turkmen lands. This massacre remains the most painful scar in Turkmen national memory, and Geok Tepe is now a national memorial site.

The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic was founded in 1924. Under Soviet rule, Turkmenistan developed a single-resource economic structure. Large-scale cotton cultivation was developed relying on irrigation water diverted from the Amu Darya River and the Karakum Canal, alongside extensive exploitation of oil and gas resources. It became the Soviet Union’s second-largest cotton producer after Uzbekistan and a pivotal natural gas supplier.

Saparmurat Niyazov took office as leader of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1985. Upon national independence in 1991, he became lifelong president and titled himself Türkmenbaşy, meaning the Leader of All Turkmens.

His rule was notorious for extreme and absurd personality cults in the late 20th century:

During this period, the national economy stagnated, corruption prevailed and massive brain drain occurred.

The Father-and-Son Rule under Berdimuhamedov (2006-Present)

After Niyazov’s sudden death in 2006 officially attributed to heart disease, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, then Minister of Health and a professor of stomatology, succeeded to power. He adopted milder policies, reopening theatres, partially lifting internet restrictions and easing worship of Niyazov, while establishing his own personality cult:

In March 2022, the elder Berdymukhamedov announced early retirement, handing over the presidency to his son Serdar Berdymukhamedov via national election. This marked Central Asia’s first peaceful hereditary power transfer and the formation of the region’s first political family dynasty. The former president retains key posts including Chairman of the People’s Council and National Elder Statesman, jointly governing the country alongside his son.

Around 93% of Turkmenistan’s population are Muslims adhering to the Sunni Hanafi school, while 6% are Orthodox Christians mainly ethnic Russians.

The government exercises stringent control over religious affairs. All mosques are state-administered, religious clergy receive official training, full-face veils and long male beards are prohibited with unapproved beards often forcibly trimmed by police. Open eating and drinking in public are restricted yet not fully banned during Ramadan, and private religious gatherings at home are forbidden.

During the era of Ruhnama, Niyazov ordered copies of his book to be placed alongside the Quran inside mosques and inscribed on mosque walls, sparking widespread controversy across the Islamic world. Current religious policies have softened slightly, yet state dominance over official Islam remains firmly entrenched.

Population: Central Asia’s Most Secluded Nation

Its most distinctive feature lies in highly opaque emigration statistics. An estimated 1.5 to 2 million Turkmens permanently work and settle in Turkey, Russia, Germany and other countries, yet the government never acknowledges this figure.

Strict restrictions apply to cross-border mobility. Turkmen citizens face immense difficulties in applying for overseas passports and require special official approval for outbound travel. Since 2018, some overseas students have even been barred from returning home, further isolating the public from the outside world.

The Niyazov administration systematically devastated the local education system. It cut secondary schooling from 10 years to 9 years and once further down to 8 years, shortened undergraduate university programmes to just two years, abolished academic disciplines such as sociology and philosophy, and triggered a massive exodus of senior intellectuals.

The Berdymukhamedov government has introduced partial restorations, reinstating 10-year secondary education and four-year undergraduate programmes, and permitting controlled overseas study for selected students. Nevertheless, overall educational standards still lag far behind other Central Asian states.

While the official literacy rate exceeds 99%, independent international institutions estimate the actual figure stands merely between 80% and 90%. Almost all higher education institutions are concentrated in Ashgabat, with the National University founded in 1950 being the largest.

Economy: Overreliance on Energy Resources

Gas exports contribute 65% of national fiscal revenue and 80% of total export earnings, forming the fundamental backbone of state finance.

Politics: Super Authoritarianism under Father-Son Co-Governance

Turkmenistan operates under a presidential republic system. President Serdar Berdymukhamedov took office in 2022, while his father retains the post of Chairman of the People’s Council, a supreme political body empowered to override presidential decisions and convene constitutional assemblies.

Recognised by the United Nations in 1995, Turkmenistan commits to joining no military alliances, banning foreign military garrisons and staying neutral in international conflicts. It is one of the world’s few officially acknowledged permanently neutral countries, distinct from Switzerland whose neutrality derives from historical tradition rather than UN resolutions.

In practice, it stays outside the CSTO, SCO only as an observer or dialogue partner and the EAEU, maintaining minimal participation in international organisations and securing a unique low-profile stance amid major-power geopolitical games.

Technology: Central Asia’s Digital Backwater

Turkmenistan has Central Asia’s lowest internet penetration rate. While official data stands at 75%, independent surveys confirm only 20% to 30% of locals have genuine access to functional internet services, with most residents merely using basic mobile network services.

Strict internet censorship blocks mainstream global social platforms and nearly all VPN services. The state-run search engine Yashyl serves as a simplified local alternative to Google. Using VPN tools in Ashgabat constitutes an illegal act carrying severe penalties.

Local bank cards and the Altyn Asyr payment platform dominate the market while mobile payment services remain underdeveloped, with cash transactions still prevailing. Main telecom operators include state-owned Altyn Asyr and Russia-backed MTS Turkmenistan. Huawei and ZTE are the primary suppliers of communication equipment.

Launched in 2021, the Ashgabat 2.0 project aims to build a futuristic city equipped with 5G networks, intelligent transportation and digital government systems, with Huawei and ZTE undertaking most infrastructure construction. In 2023, the government announced plans to build the new Arkadag City named after the former president’s honorary title, positioned as the world’s first integrated Islamic digital city, though actual construction progress remains sluggish.

Turkmenistan and China: Vital Energy Lifeline

This forms the unshakable core of bilateral relations.

A steady large-scale gas source for the West-East Gas Transmission Project; a cornerstone of overland energy corridors; one of the world's hardest countries to obtain a visa.