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.
Officials attend a ceremony in 2019 to mark the first export convoy to India via Iran at Chabahar port. Photo: Getty Images
India

‘Trump’s wrath’: India’s aim to diversify trade via Iran faces tariff threat

The 25 per cent tariff against countries that trade with Iran may curtail India’s plan to develop the Chabahar port in Iran.

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Food and Drinks

First Look: Yurt, Hong Kong’s ‘first modern Central Asian restaurant’

Afghanistan

‘We miss our parents’: Afghanistan-Pakistan border closure leaves thousands in limbo

China trade

How the ‘world’s supermarket’ rode out Trump’s tariffs – and grew even stronger

Yiwu, one of China’s biggest export hubs, was expected to take a hit from US tariffs. Instead, it has seen trade surge.

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Vendors work at the Yiwu International Trade Market, a vast emporium for wholesale goods often dubbed the “world’s supermarket”, in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. The city has recorded strong growth in exports this year despite the US-China trade war. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

Muslim businesses in China target Malaysia as global halal gateway

The growing presence of China’s Muslim entrepreneurs at a festival in Kuala Lumpur reflects their trust in Malaysia’s strong halal standards.

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

PBOC pledges to integrate e-CNY into the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, boost adoption in Southeast Asia via China’s CIPS payment network.

A customer makes a payment using China’s digital currency, or e-CNY, at a store in Beijing. Photo: Getty Images
Ukraine war

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

For hubs of transit trade from Armenia to the UAE, economic self-interest is best served by having sanctions on Russia in place indefinitely.

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.

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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Vendors sell traditional Uzbek clothing and jewellery inside a madrasah in Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan In September. Photo: EPA
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.

People protest at Los Angeles International Airport in June, on the first day of the Trump administration’s full ban against travel from 12 countries and a partial ban on seven others. Photo: AFP
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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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.

A Taliban policeman looks on as a crowd heads toward a stadium to attend the public execution on Tuesday. Photo: AP
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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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.

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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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Residents clear debris from houses destroyed in air strikes in Khost, Afghanistan, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
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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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.

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 President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a dinner with leaders of Central Asian countries in the East Room of the White House on November 6. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
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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China has increasingly used its dominance of global rare earth supplies as leverage in its negotiations with the United States amid the trade war. Photo: AFP
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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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.

Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in Kwai Chung. Photo: Sam Tsang
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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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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