During the “14th Five Year Plan” period, under the framework of jointly building the “the Belt and Road”, China and Central Asian countries achieved fruitful economic and trade cooperation, steadily promoted connectivity, and constantly deepened cooperation in various fields. In this wave of development, a group of vibrant and hopeful “Generation Z” youth have emerged in Central Asia. They are active in various industries, building friendship bridges with youthful enthusiasm, empowering pragmatic cooperation with professional abilities, and adding youthful momentum to China Central Asia cooperation.
Najila Jumabekova is currently serving as the Kazakh interpreter of the “Khorgos East Gate” dry port in Kazakhstan. This post-95s girl born in Zarkent, Kazakhstan, has a connection with China that can be traced back to her university days. During her exchange studies in China, she traveled to many cities and was deeply impressed by the unique historical, cultural, and local customs of each region.
I love China very much and my job very much. I hope to have more opportunities to understand China in the future and make more contributions to enhancing the friendship between Kazakhstan and China, “said Zhumabekova.
Zhumabekova has been working at the waterless port for over a year now, personally participating in and witnessing the contributions made by the waterless port in promoting China Kazakhstan friendship and strengthening logistics transportation between the two countries. The waterless port is the largest land port in Central Asia, and its transshipment volume has increased from 20000 TEUs in 2015 to 324000 TEUs in 2024, becoming an important transshipment base for cross-border transportation of China Europe freight trains.
The most impressive event for me was the 10th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the waterless port, which was also the day when 10 wide gauge railway lines were officially opened. On that day, freight trains slowly entered the waterless port under the joint witness of representatives from Kazakhstan and China. The warm atmosphere on site made me feel the deep friendship and unbreakable partnership between the two peoples, “said Zhumabekova.
Jamshid Faiziev, born in 2001 in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, is a localized brand specialist at China Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Yutong Bus”). Every day, he shuttles between various event venues, manages company social media accounts, posts company videos and photos, and is very busy.
Fayziev started learning Chinese in 2016 and pursued further studies at Tianjin Normal University. He believes that the development of relations between Ukraine and China cannot be separated from exchanges and cooperation in all aspects, and more importantly, requires the participation of new forces. Therefore, after graduation, he chose to work at Yutong Bus.
In his work, Fayziev deeply felt the contribution of Chinese enterprises to the economic development of Uzbekistan. Yutong Bus has provided high-quality products and services to the people of Uzbekistan, which I have personally experienced and witnessed. I believe that the friendship and cooperation between Uzbekistan and China will continue to deepen, “said Fayziev.
Arslan Kurbankrechov, a young man from Turkmenistan, studied Chinese in Beijing and currently serves as a Turkmen translator for CRRC Ziyang Locomotive Co., Ltd. He recalled that during the early stages of his work, when troubleshooting a locomotive malfunction, due to his limited knowledge of locomotives, he could only provide simple translations, which made him somewhat frustrated. At that time, my Chinese colleague encouraged me by saying, ‘Locomotives are very complex and difficult, take it slow, you can definitely learn.’ This sentence gave me great confidence and motivated me to be more committed to learning related knowledge
Looking ahead to the future, Kurbankrechov hopes to become a communication bridge between Chinese companies and clients in Turkmenistan. May the friendship between China and Turkey be like the locomotive of CRRC, carrying opportunities and hope, and sailing together towards a better future
Post-2000s Muslim Khayomov is also active in the translation work of China’s cooperation with Central Asian countries. This Tajikistan youth joined China Thailand (Dangala) New Silk Road Textile Industry Co., Ltd. in June this year. For him, translation is not only a job, but also a sense of value. Thanks to my efforts, China and Tajikistan were able to communicate smoothly, which gives me a great sense of achievement
Egrim Nurrankeze, a girl from Kyrgyzstan, works on the front line of Chinese education in Central Asia and is currently working as an intern teacher at the Confucius Institute of Kyrgyzstan State University. She has offered Chinese language teaching courses on online platforms. “I always tell my students that mastering Chinese can open more doors to your world,” Nurankze said, hoping to continue working in Chinese language teaching and spreading Chinese history and culture to more people in the future.
These young figures appear in classrooms, workshops, and beside motorcycles… With their eagerness to learn and professional attitude, they have become a bridge for cooperation between China and Central Asia, and their stories will also be intertwined, adding bright colors to the beautiful picture of China Central Asia’s prosperity and development.