China is challenging Russia’s stranglehold on Central Asia’s arms market. Uzbekistan appears to have taken delivery of four PRC-made ChengduJ-10CE multi-role combat aircraft, according to multiple reports, one of which includes a photo of one of the fighters supposedly acquired by the Uzbek Air Force. Tashkent reportedly has an agreement with Beijing to receive a total of 24 fighters. Uzbek and Chinese officials have yet to confirm the initial delivery. If accurate, the deal signals a significant expansion of China’s military cooperation with Central Asia. Russia’s grip on Central Asia’s arms market has been slipping in recent years, as the increasing demands of maintaining its war effort in Ukraine have sapped its ability to supply weapons to foreign nations around the globe. In addition to diversifying its arms purchases, some Central Asian states, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, have sought to develop domestic arms manufacturing capability, especially for drone production.More from UzbekistanSinopec, China’s state-owned energy giant, and Uzbekneftegaz, the state-owned holding company of Uzbekistan’s oil and gas industry, are considering a deal to jointly extract hydrocarbons on the Ustyurt plateau, where several promising reserves have been identified, according to Uzbek state news agency UzA. Uzbek officials have reportedly requested Sinopec to provide specifications for technological solutions needed to drill wells up to 6,000 meters deep in conditions of high reservoir pressure and elevated temperatures. Sinopec was recently approved to implement a project worth more than $6 billion, also in western Uzbekistan.Uzmetkombinat, the country’s largest iron and steel enterprise, and the Chinese metallurgical giant Baigong Steel have signed an MoU for the mining of mineral deposits, steel production and other investment projects, the Uzbek company announced. The value of the deal was not specified, but it covers at least three major deposits.A delegation from Uzbekistan’s Ferghana region, during a visit to the PRC, reached a preliminary agreement with a Chinese company, Teglong, to produce electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) in Ferghana, reports UzDaily.uz. KazakhstanAs China’s trade with Central Asia grows, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are looking for ways to optimize logistics. Representatives of the two countries’ transport ministries met to assess transit and storage capacity at the dry megaport of Khorgos on the Kazakh-Chinese border and explore ways to increase freight flows. A few weeks prior, Uzbek and Kazakh officials conducted a similar examination of the port of Aktau, another major hub in the Middle Corridor trade network. Kazakhstan and China have opened a joint earthquake research center in Almaty to improve seismic monitoring and develop early-warning technologies, reports Almaty.tv. The center will initially operate three laboratories focused on seismic risks, monitoring, and early warning, with Kazakh and Chinese scientists working together and paying particular attention to the seismically active Tian Shan and southeastern Kazakhstan, a seismically active area. The region has experienced two relatively small earthquakes, of a magnitude of about 5.0 on the Richter scale, in mid-August. In January 2024, Almaty was rocked by a significant tremor.Kazakhstan plans to adapt Chinese agricultural technologies to combat drought, soil degradation and declining soil fertility through Kazakhstan’s ECOJER association partnership with research centers in China’s Hunan province, according to InBusiness.kz. The cooperation framework includes developing a digital soil-carbon map, testing drought-resistant crops and precision spraying. The partnership is also exploring the feasibility of establishing a joint research and training center on carbon farming.In the first half of 2026, Kazakhstan’s oil exports to China via the Kazakhstan-China Pipeline rose 43 percent year-on-year to 916,000 tons, according to KazTransOil. KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan and China have agreed on a draft cooperation agreement to improve management of their shared border crossings. The deal, if finalized, would establish a Kyrgyz-Chinese committee and working groups for individual checkpoints to coordinate agencies and address operational issues. China Media Group has launched screenings of Chinese films in Kyrgyzstan, aimed at promoting cultural exchange and closer ties between the two countries.TajikistanThe China-Tajik Mining Company, a joint venture long touted by Tajik authorities as an example of the benefits of bilateral cooperation, has turned out to be the country’s largest tax scofflaw, owing the state about $26 million in back taxes, according to an opposition media outlet, Pamir Inside, which cited official government data.Tajikistan and China are exploring the implementation of Ban Mo – a vocational education cooperation program – between Bokhtar Medical College and China’s Taishan Vocational College of Nursing, according to the Tajik state news agency Khovar. TurkmenistanTurkmenistan will participate in the ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai from November 5-10. Officials in Ashgabat indicate that Turkmen firms plan to showcase their export and manufacturing potential in a national pavilion, reports Turkmen Portal.By EurasianetMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comIraq-Syria Oil Pipeline to Bypass Hormuz Is 4 Years and $15 Billion AwayChina's Renewables Boom Faces Record Clean Power Curtailments$100 Diesel Cracks Signal a Much Tighter Oil Market Than Brent Suggests