China increases investments in Tajikistan by 13% in 2025
DUSHANBE. Feb 24 (Interfax) - China's direct investments in Tajikistan's economy totaled $294.1 million in 2025 and made up 57.7% of the total volume from all countries in the period, the State Committee on Investments and State Property Management of the Republic of Tajikistan reported.
China's direct investments in the Tajik economy amounted to $261 million in 2024. As such, they grew 12.7% in 2025.
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) said in its report that China's cumulative investments in Central Asian countries had reached $35.9 billion by mid-2025, a 1.5-fold increase since 2020.
The EDB said that investment activity had increased 25% or by $7.2 billion in the last one and a half years.
Kazakhstan received the most investments from China - $11.4 billion or around a third of the country's total investments in the region - the main investors being China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), a company which produces, processes and transports oil and has a chain of gas stations, and Sinopec, an oil producer participating in a project to produce polyethylene.
Analysts from the bank also said that direct investments from China to Uzbekistan had increased 5-fold to $10.7 billion over five years, making up 30% of the total investments versus a previous 9%. Major projects include the construction of solar power plants in various regions of Uzbekistan, the launch of an Exeed automobile plant in the city of Sirdaryo, the modernization of a gas storage facility in the Tashkent region and several others.
Turkmenistan received the third largest sum of investments from China in the region, or $9.5 billion. This is mainly to support the development of a large gas field in the south of the country.
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan each received over $2 billion in investments from China. Key projects in Kyrgyzstan include gold mining and the construction of oil refineries. In Tajikistan, the funds are being used to fund projects related to gold mining and cement production.
According to the EDB report, manufacturing and electricity are major drivers for China's direct investments in the region, accounting for 20% or $7.2 billion and 18% or $6.6 billion respectively in 2025. The raw materials sector is still the largest; however, its share has decreased over the past five years from 64% to 47%, amounting to $16.7 billion in 2025.
