China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan to sign customs data exchange pact in 2027

September 26, 2026 at 02:46 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Customs services of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan agreed on a draft procedure for operational data exchange at a working group meeting in Urumqi on September 15-17. The document is planned to be signed at the third China-Central Asia summit in 2027, with a pilot information exchange to be considered before that. Turkmenistan's State Customs Service participated as an observer and reported the outcome.

Key Facts

The draft cooperation procedure was agreed at the first meeting of a specialized working group held in Urumqi on September 15-17.
The document is planned to be signed at the third China-Central Asia summit in 2027.
The parties intend to consider launching a pilot information exchange before signing the main document.
Turkmenistan's State Customs Service participated in the meeting as an observer and reported the results.
The next working group meeting will be held in Kazakhstan.

Working Group Meeting

The first meeting of the specialized working group took place in Urumqi on September 15-17. Representatives of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan discussed customs risk management technologies, the use of artificial intelligence algorithms and big data analysis. The main result was the agreement on a draft 'Cooperation Procedure' for operational data exchange between customs services. Turkmenistan's State Customs Service participated as an observer and reported the outcome.

Planned Signing and Pilot

The document is planned to be signed at the third China-Central Asia summit in 2027. Before that, the parties intend to consider launching a pilot information exchange. According to the Turkmen customs service, the future mechanism should speed up cargo passage across borders, improve customs control accuracy and make trade routes more transparent. The specific data to be exchanged, its volume and timing have not yet been disclosed.

Bilateral Kyrgyz-Chinese Cooperation

On September 7-8, customs services of Kyrgyzstan and China met in Urumqi to discuss customs clearance for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, cross-border smuggling and operational information exchange. The parties agreed to set new threshold values for congestion at the Torugart and Irkeshtam border crossings and to exchange daily data on the number of vehicles waiting to cross. Kyrgyzstan proposed switching the Chinese side of Torugart to round-the-clock operation. The Chinese side agreed to submit the issue to the competent authorities of the PRC.