Central Asia
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Central Asia

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Central Asia
Central Asia
News from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel on the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is open to traffic. Photo: Xinhua
Xinjiang

China’s mega expressway tunnel opens in Xinjiang, halves north-south travel time

The project is the biggest of its kind in the world and is expected to help forge stronger regional and international links.

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Yuan

China expands digital-yuan push to Singapore and Asean trade routes

Ukraine war

Opinion | How the West’s sanctions against Russia are fuelling a protracted war

Food and Drinks

New restaurant Yurt brings Kazakhstan’s horsemeat tradition to Hong Kong

Horsemeat is a central part of Kazakh and Central Asian culture and, for the team at Yurt, there was no question of it not being on the menu.

A variety of dishes at Yurt, including beshbarmak (top left). Photo: Yurt
Japan

Steppe in the right direction? ‘Japan is back’ in Central Asia with new summit

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the leaders of five Central Asian nations are expected to establish a new framework for cooperation in AI.

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Donald Trump

Trump expands US travel ban and restrictions to include another 20 countries

The clampdown affects people seeking to travel to the US as visitors as well as those hoping to emigrate there.

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China-India relations

Trump, Modi have ‘warm’ phone call – but 2025 unlikely to end with a trade deal

Even after calls for India to contribute more in the Indo-Pacific to counter China and deepen defence ties, Trump refuses to budge on trade concessions.

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US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoyed a friendly phone call on Thursday, but a trade deal between the two countries is still some way off. Photo: AP
Pakistan

5 killed in latest clash at Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing

Each side has accused the other of launching ‘unprovoked’ attacks at the crossing between Chaman and Spin Boldak, in southern Afghanistan.

Afghanistan

Afghan boy, 13, executes family’s killer in echoes of worst days of Taliban rule

The public execution, the 11th carried out since the Taliban seized power in 2021, has drawn global condemnation.

United States

US pauses all immigration applications from 19 countries

The pause applies to people from nations that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June.

Women gather next to an anti-US mural in Tehran. The list of countries targeted in the US memorandum includes Iran. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters
Open Questions series

Open Questions | Ex-PLA colonel on Taiwan, the Ukraine war, China-US ties

Zhou Bo ponders Japanese PM Takaichi’s recent remarks, lessons from the Ukraine conflict and why China won’t be world’s policeman.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Afghanistan

3 Chinese citizens killed in Tajik-Afghan border clash

Tajik officials claim the workers were killed in a drone and gun attack from Afghanistan, raising tensions in Tajikistan’s volatile border region.

Pakistan

Can mediators prevent war between Afghanistan, Pakistan as tensions spike?

Prolonged proxy warfare could create space for terrorist groups such as Isis-K to regenerate and plot overseas attacks, analysts warn.

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Pakistan

3 Pakistani security officers killed in suicide bombing near Afghan border

One attacker detonated his explosives at the main gate of the paramilitary headquarters while a second was shot and killed in its compound.

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Paramilitary soldiers secured the entrance of their headquarters in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Monday after suicide bombers attacked it. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong environmental issues

Letters | Rare stingray in Victoria Harbour a welcome sign of nature’s restoration

Readers discuss how Hong Kong’s marine conservation efforts are paying off, plans for a residential development in a Tai Po site, and geopolitical contests in Central Asia.

The eagle ray fished from Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour earlier this month is an endangered species. Photo: Handout
US-China relations

Opinion | As US and China turn their eyes to Central Asia, Russia loses out

The region that has traditionally been in Russia’s geopolitical orbit is turning into a new arena of competition between the US and China.

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US-China trade war

US ‘knocking on every country’s door’ as it races to secure rare earth supplies

Washington is determined to break China’s rare earths chokehold in case ties with Beijing fray once again, analysts say.

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Kazakhstan

Why did Kazakhstan join the Abraham Accords if Israel wasn’t the reason?

It’s all part of the ‘Great Game 2.0’, with Kazakhstan seeing the US as a hedge against China and Russia’s influence, analysts say.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump at the signing of the Abraham Accords in September 2020. Photo: AFP
Art

Kazakh fabric artist reflects on inherited ‘traumas’ in Hong Kong show

The Mills becomes Berlin-based Gulnur Mukazhanova’s canvas as she uses Central Asian textiles to explore perspective and question hope.

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong to tap new markets amid easing tariff war, confident of export growth

Commerce chief Algernon Yau says Hong Kong needs to diversify exports after last month’s Sino-US trade talks breakthrough.

Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Hong Kong holds key ‘accelerator’ role as China’s trade strategy evolves

The city’s institutional strengths, strategic location and service capabilities make it a pivotal enabler of China’s changing trade architecture.

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Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu touring the 8th China International Import Expo in Shanghai on November 5. Photo: ISD
Afghanistan

Taliban says Afghanistan-Pakistan ceasefire will hold, despite failed talks

Afghanistan blamed ‘irresponsible and uncooperative’ Pakistan for the failure while Islamabad said Kabul was not clamping down on terrorism.

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A man and child stand by a house allegedly damaged by cross-border fire from Pakistan in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, on Friday. Photo: EPA
Donald Trump

Trump hosts Central Asian leaders as US eyes sources for critical minerals

The C5+1 summit marks Washington’s effort to expand influence in a resource-rich region long dominated by Russia and increasingly courted by China.

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Start-ups

Tencent-backed Uzbek start-up eyes pre-IPO funding round in Hong Kong

Uzum co-founder Nikolay Seleznev is looking at a potential listing in 2027, including in Hong Kong, London, Abu Dhabi and Nasdaq.

US-China relations

Opinion | A US-China thaw could boost Eurasian trade

While China’s interest in Central Asian infrastructure is well established through its Belt and Road Initiative, the US is quietly becoming more active in the region too.

A view of Almaty, a cargo hub in Kazakhstan, in 2023. Kazakhstan, which links the large markets of Europe and Asia, has become critical in international transport. Photo: Xinhua
Pakistan

Afghan, Pakistani negotiators to strengthen truce in Istanbul

Islamabad has repeatedly accused its Afghan neighbour of ‘harbouring’ groups it views as ‘terrorist’, primarily the Pakistani Taliban, which Kabul denies.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif (right) and Afghan Defence Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob shake hands after signing a ceasefire agreement in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday. Photo: AP
China trade

At China’s Canton Fair, exporters sense a warming trend in yuan settlements

Chinese traders report a rising number of overseas clients opting to pay using the yuan, signalling a quiet shift away from the US dollar.

Pakistan

Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to ceasefire after deadly fighting

Mediated by Qatar and Turkey, the truce came into effect immediately and is intended to pause hostilities that killed dozens and injured hundreds.

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