As President Xi Jinping hailed a cross-border railway project via Kyrgyzstan during his visit to the Central Asian country, Beijing is accelerating efforts to expand railway links with neighbours – from Mongolia to Vietnam – to boost regional trade and hedge against rising geopolitical risks.Meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in Bishkek on Monday, Xi stressed the importance of building a “high-quality China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway”, describing it as “a major transportation artery that carries the region’s hopes for development”, according to state news agency Xinhua.Xi and Japarov pledged in a joint declaration on Monday to ensure the railway’s timely completion while creating favourable conditions to guarantee its traffic volume and operational efficiency.“The railway is more than just a transit line – it is a strategic lever reshaping the regional landscape,” said Li Lifan, an expert on Russia and Central Asia at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.“For China, it creates a safer and more efficient supply chain; for landlocked nations like Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, it presents a historical opportunity to transform into land-linked hubs.”The railway is part of China’s expanding cross-border network under the Belt and Road Initiative, as Beijing steps up infrastructure investment to strengthen trade links and regional connectivity across Asia, Africa and Europe.