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

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

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.

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.

A mortar lies on the ground near a damaged house in Chaman on Saturday, following overnight cross-border fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Photo: AFP
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.

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.

Ruins of Ancient Penjikent in Tajikistan along the the Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor. Photo: Shutterstock
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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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 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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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.

Kazakh artist Gulnur Mukazhanova stands beside her installation False Hope or Moment of the Present, at the Mills in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. The piece, on show until November 30, kicks off her exhibition Dowry of the Soul, which runs from November 14 to March 1, 2026. Photo: Chat
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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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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President Donald Trump hosting leaders of five Central Asian countries at the White House. Photo: EPA
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.

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.

A buyer (right) is seen during the 138th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, better known as the Canton Fair, on Wednesday. Sellers say more buyers are open to settling deals in yuan. Photo: Xinhua
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.

Pakistan

Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to immediate ceasefire after Doha peace talks

The two sides are seeking a way forward after border clashes killed dozens and wounded hundreds.

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