Osh is a major city in southern Kyrgyzstan. On September 7, 2024, the China-Kyrgyzstan Cooperation Center of Blindness Prevention was officially inaugurated in Osh. That same week, the road markings for Phase II of the new North-South Highway in the north were completed. One in the south, one in the north—healthcare and connectivity—together form a key narrative of China-Kyrgyzstan cooperation: through joint efforts, the two countries are overcoming geographical disadvantages and creating advantages for development. As the host country of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, China-Kyrgyzstan cooperation is demonstrating that a landlocked country can successfully achieve developmental transformation through mutually beneficial cooperation with its neighbors.
Institutional Reciprocity in Health Cooperation
In Osh, cataracts once plagued many elderly residents. Data from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health revealed a massive shortage of ophthalmologists in the southern region. In September 2023, the “Brightness Journey of LifeLine Express" made its first visit to Kyrgyzstan; in September 2024, the cooperation center was officially inaugurated. This is not merely one-way aid, but rather the result of Kyrgyzstan proactively designating ophthalmic care as a priority development area, to which China responded by providing technology and equipment. At the ceremony, then Kyrgyz Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev emphasized that this marked “a new beginning for cooperation in the health sector” and pledged to integrate the center into the national healthcare system to ensure its continued operation.
The Chinese team not only performs surgeries but also trains Kyrgyz doctors, imparting standardized diagnostic and treatment procedures ranging from the use of slit lamps to intraocular lens implantation. This model—where “Kyrgyzstan provides the platform and identifies needs, while China provides technology and training”—has transformed Osh from a recipient of medical services into a regional healthcare hub.
By 2025, the China-Kyrgyzstan "Brightness Journey of LifeLine Express" initiative had cumulatively completed more than 800 surgeries, significantly boosting patient trust in Kyrgyzstan. This trust is built on a mutual commitment between Kyrgyzstan’s institutional support and China’s technical expertise.
Interconnectivity Under a National Strategy
The new North-South Highway, with a total length of 433 kilometers, has been designated by Kyrgyzstan as a “national strategic project.” During the project’s implementation, Kyrgyzstan not only handled land acquisition and relocation but also amended the public procurement law to streamline approval processes, providing legal safeguards for Chinese construction companies. In return, China provided preferential loans and engineering technology. Once completed, the new North-South Highway is expected to reduce travel time between Bishkek and Osh from more than ten hours to around six or seven hours.Resaliyev, a resident of the village of Kazarman, noted that heavy vehicles used to be unable to enter the village, making it feel as if it were “choked by the mountains”; now that the road is open, he has begun learning foreign languages to welcome tourists. This progress reflects the joint efforts of Kyrgyzstan and China to strengthen connectivity and promote shared development.
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project is a prime example of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. This “Iron Silk Road,” which had been under discussion for three decades, finally broke ground in December 2024, thanks to the three countries designating it as a shared priority. In 2024, Kyrgyzstan amended its investment law to provide tax incentives and land use guarantees for the railway project, while China made adjustments to technical standards and financing plans. Once the railway is completed, Kyrgyzstan will transform from a “landlocked country” into a “land-linked country.” This infrastructure connectivity complements the China-Kyrgyzstan power grid interconnection project: Kyrgyzstan gains a solution to its seasonal power shortages, while China secures a stable westward transmission corridor.
From Bilateral Cooperation to Regional Synergy
In the field of education, Kyrgyz State Technical University took the initiative in proposing the establishment of a Luban Workshop jointly with Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, focusing on water conservancy and energy technologies and providing training to 4,000 participants over a six-month period.
From the perspective of the entire Central Asian region, this initiative complements the Luban Workshop in East Kazakhstan region, Kazakhstan, in terms of specialization. In the agricultural sector, the agricultural demonstration park in Chuy region, Kyrgyzstan, has adopted Chinese water-saving irrigation technology. The Kyrgyz side provides land and labor, while the Chinese side contributes technology and high-quality seeds, thereby increasing local crop yields. This model also echoes contract farming in North Kazakhstan region, Kazakhstan, and cotton cultivation on the Sughd region in Tajikistan.
Although Kyrgyzstan faces seasonal electricity shortages, its geographical position gives it considerable potential as a regional transport and energy hub. The construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway will provide a new corridor for logistics and transportation in Central Asia, while the Kyrgyzstan-China power grid interconnection project will help alleviate the country’s seasonal power shortages. This synergy between energy and transportation is transforming Kyrgyzstan’s role in regional cooperation from that of a “transit country” to a “hub country.” Kazakhstan’s support for cross-border power grid interconnection and Uzbekistan’s coordination on the railway project together form a network of regional collaboration.
A Vivid Demonstration of Development Values
In late August, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit will be held in Bishkek. As the host country, Kyrgyzstan showcases not only project achievements but also its philosophy of cooperation. In 2025, trade volume between China and Kyrgyzstan exceeded 22.7 billion U.S. dollars, with a year-on-year increase of 52.6% in the first eight months. This growth stems from Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to optimize its investment environment and China’s expansion of market access. In an ophthalmology operating room in Osh, Chinese and Kyrgyz doctors jointly discuss surgical plans; at a tunnel construction site on the new North-South Highway, Chinese and Kyrgyz engineers work together to overcome technical challenges. These scenes illustrate a fundamental truth: True regional cooperation is by no means a simple one-way transfer of resources; rather, through strategic alignment, institutional safeguards, and localized cooperation, it helps partner countries build their own capacity for development, thereby achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
Kyrgyzstan’s experience demonstrates that landlocked countries can fully overcome geographical constraints through openness and cooperation. At the heart of this transformation lies the commitment to the values of “development for the people, development by the people, and the fruits of development shared by the people”. As patients in Osh regain their sight and villagers in Kazarman welcome tourists, China and Kyrgyzstan are jointly exploring a path to modernization that suits the realities of Central Asia. This is not only Kyrgyzstan’s story but also the shared development vision pursued by all SCO member states.
Xinhua writer Zhao Yu, Jiang Youlin, Gou Hongjing
