China and Kyrgyzstan Sign Cooperation Agreement in the Power Sector

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 23, Adylbek Kasymaliev, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Head of the Presidential Administration of Kyrgyzstan, held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Hangzhou. During the visit, the Ministry of Energy of Kyrgyzstan and China's National Energy Administration signed a cooperation agreement in the power sector, on the basis of which the two sides will advance subsequent cooperation on power projects. The Kyrgyz side stated that it hopes to further translate bilateral energy cooperation into concrete joint projects and, at the same time, expand cooperation in the green energy sector.

The signing of this agreement dovetails with the existing energy infrastructure cooperation between China and Kyrgyzstan. In recent years, the two sides have carried out multiple rounds of cooperation on cross-border power interconnection, transmission lines and renewable energy, including studying the construction of a 500kV Kyrgyzstan–China transmission line, the Sary-Jaz River cascade hydropower project and small hydropower facilities. Kyrgyzstan currently still faces issues such as growing domestic electricity demand, aging grid equipment and winter power shortages, and the government is expanding its power supply capacity through investment in hydropower, wind power, photovoltaics and the power grid.

Investment in renewable energy is also accelerating. In April this year, when the National Investment Agency of Kyrgyzstan and a relevant team from China Energy Engineering International discussed new energy projects, the Chinese side proposed studying investment of up to approximately USD 1 billion to develop new energy projects with a total scale of up to approximately 700MW, including approximately 500MW of photovoltaics and 200MW of wind power. This intergovernmental power cooperation agreement adds a new cooperation framework for subsequent project development, coordination among energy authorities and policy alignment.

Beyond energy, the Hangzhou talks also covered the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, port infrastructure, green energy, finance, artificial intelligence and the digital economy. Kasymaliev listed the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway as a flagship cooperation project between the two countries and proposed continuing to advance the Barskoon–Bedel–Uchturfan–Aksu highway and the infrastructure construction of the Bedel port. Li Qiang said that China is willing to continue expanding investment in Kyrgyzstan and deepen cooperation in green energy, finance and the digital economy.