Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukraine conflict, the countries in Central Asia (CA) became acutely aware of the severe limitations related to their transportation routes. With heavy dependence on Moscow, CA countries decided to engage in diversification of their import- export channels. For Bishkek and Tashkent such attempts resulted in the renewed interest in advancing the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway project.

China's factory output and retail sales growth slowed sharply and missed expectations in July, as new COVID-19 outbreaks and floods disrupted business operations, adding to signs the economic recovery is losing momentum.