China marks major tunnel milestone for Central Asia railway bypassing Russia
China has completed the first tunnel in the Kyrgyz section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, a project conceived in 1997. The 210-metre tunnel was the first drilled since full-scale work began in June 2025, and overall progress on the section has reached 17 per cent. The railway spans over 500km, running from Kashgar in China's Xinjiang region through Kyrgyzstan to Andijan, Uzbekistan.
Why it matters: This milestone advances the Belt and Road Initiative's goal of providing a critical trade corridor that bypasses Russia, a key theme in the briefing.