Winners of “China Plus One” | Uzbekistan: A New Manufacturing Pole in the Heart of Central Asia
By Wan Ge in Tokyo
According to Chinese customs data, bilateral trade between China and Uzbekistan reached about $16.1 billion in 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, it rose to $4.109 billion, up 35.5% year on year. Uzbekistan’s national statistics agency reported that trade with China had already reached $7.7 billion in the first five months of 2026.
In Central Asia’s most populous country, with more than 38 million people, the “China Plus One” strategy is moving from trade into deeper industrial investment.
As of July 1, 2026, the number of foreign-invested enterprises in Uzbekistan exceeded 20,000 for the first time. Chinese-invested companies numbered 6,060, the largest total among all foreign investors and close to 30% of the country’s foreign-invested enterprises.
As investment accelerates in manufacturing, information technology and renewable energy, Uzbekistan is beginning to shift from a transit corridor into a manufacturing base.
BYD: Central Asia’s First Major NEV Manufacturing Base
On July 8, 2026, BYD’s regional head for Central Asia and the Caucasus met Uzbekistan’s minister of investment, industry and trade to discuss further cooperation in new-energy vehicles. At the center of the talks was BYD’s plant in Jizzakh, its first full-scale NEV manufacturing base in Central Asia.
The factory began production in the summer of 2024 using a CKD assembly model, initially producing the Song PLUS DM-i Champion Edition and Chaser 05 Champion Edition. Its first-phase annual capacity is 50,000 vehicles, serving Uzbekistan with plans to export to other Central Asian markets.
BYD entered the Uzbek market only in 2023, yet the plant was operating a year later. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev personally joined the production launch ceremony by video link in January 2024.
The next phase includes discussions on capacity expansion, higher localization rates and a nationwide fast-charging network. BYD’s strategy is moving from selling cars to producing them locally and building the supporting infrastructure around them.
JAC Motors: A $135 Million Tashkent Plant
In May 2026, a joint venture between JAC Motors and Tashkent Investment Company officially opened a factory in the Yangi Avlod industrial park.
The project involves total investment of $135 million. The first phase is an SKD plant with annual capacity of 10,000 vehicles. A second-phase CKD facility is planned to raise capacity to 30,000 vehicles a year.
Together, BYD in Jizzakh and JAC in Tashkent illustrate a broader shift: Uzbekistan is moving from being primarily an automobile importer toward becoming a regional production base.
Huadian Solar: A 500 MW Flagship Renewable-Energy Project
In May 2026, China Huadian’s 500 MW Jizzakh solar project entered full commercial operation. It is Huadian’s largest single overseas renewable-energy investment project.
The project was developed in two phases. The first 300 MW entered commercial operation on March 31, with the second phase subsequently reaching full grid connection. The plant is expected to generate about 1.1 billion kWh of electricity annually, enough to meet the power needs of roughly 400,000 households.
For Uzbekistan, large-scale Chinese investment is becoming an important part of its transition toward a more diversified and lower-carbon power system.
Energy China: 400 MW / 800 MWh of Storage Capacity
Also in May 2026, four battery storage projects invested in and built by China Energy Engineering completed reverse-power transmission.
Located in Tashkent, Namangan and Andijan regions, the projects have combined capacity of 400 MW / 800 MWh. Each uses lithium iron phosphate battery technology and includes a 220 kV booster station.
Huadian is adding generation capacity. Energy China is adding storage. Together, they reflect the next stage of Uzbekistan’s power-system development: not simply producing more electricity, but managing it more efficiently.
New Namangan IT Park: The Digital Layer of “China Plus One”
On June 23, 2026, President Mirziyoyev attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the New Namangan IT Park.
The project will include a 17-story building combining training facilities, IT service exports, offices and support for international companies. It is part of a broader $117 million program to build IT parks in six regions of Uzbekistan with Chinese partners.
Namangan is the first project under that plan and is expected to create around 2,000 jobs for young people.
This marks a second layer in Uzbekistan’s industrial transformation: from manufacturing into digital services and technology.
Tashkent Urban Renewal: More Than $3.5 Billion in Agreements
During the third China–Uzbekistan Local Cooperation Forum in May 2026, the Tashkent city government signed agreements worth more than $3.5 billion with Chinese companies.
The projects cover BRT and road infrastructure, transport and social infrastructure, drainage and storm-water systems, and high-rise residential development in urban-renewal zones.
Other industrial projects are also advancing. Sinoma Energy Conservation signed an EPC contract for an air-separation unit in Navoi, while a 2,500-ton-per-day clinker production line in Samarkand entered operation. China Huarong Paper also plans to invest $500 million in a paper mill in Samarkand Region, which is expected to create 3,000 jobs.
The investment pattern is becoming broader, extending from automobiles and energy into construction materials, municipal infrastructure and manufacturing.
Cross-Border RMB Financing Expands
In July 2026, Bank of China and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank completed a five-year cross-border RMB loan for Uzbekistan’s telecommunications sector, with total financing of more than RMB700 million.
The transaction was settled entirely in renminbi, expanding the use of the Chinese currency in Central Asian cross-border financing.
The significance of Uzbekistan’s “China Plus One” story lies not in any single project, but in how the projects connect.
BYD is building vehicle capacity. JAC is expanding local assembly. Huadian is adding solar generation. Energy China is building storage. Chinese partners are developing IT parks, urban infrastructure and financial links.
Taken together, these investments point to a structural transition.
Uzbekistan is moving from a resource and transit economy toward a manufacturing and industrial platform. It is not only receiving Chinese capital; it is also absorbing industrial capabilities, infrastructure and development models.
That is what could turn Uzbekistan into a new manufacturing pole in the heart of Central Asia.
