Chinese tech is coming to Central Asia. Can SEA compete?

Southeast Asia has long been the first stop for Chinese companies expanding overseas. These firms are using the same “chu hai” (literally “going global”) strategy that many of their peers pursued amid weak domestic demand and intense competition at home.

Having spent around three years on the ground in Kazakhstan with my investment and research firm, I believe that another pattern is taking shape. While Southeast Asia becomes crowded with both Chinese entrants and homegrown players, Central Asia is drawing more attention from Chinese investors and companies.

Image credit: Ulla

But as Central Asia becomes the target for a second wave of expansion, what does this mean for founders, operators, and investors from Southeast Asia?

New golden child?

Central Asia is composed of five countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. They share a Soviet past and continue to use Russian as the lingua franca, especially in city centers. But despite these commonalities and geographical proximity, the region is diverse in culture and economic structure.

With roughly 38 million people and a median age of around 27, Uzbekistan is a demographic engine, contributing almost half the region’s total population. In contrast, Kazakhstan has a much smaller population but generates roughly half of Central Asia’s gross domestic product (GDP), making it the most developed economy in the region thanks to its wealth of natural resources.

Central Asia is one of the most important regions in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. As such, Chinese investment has moved through stages, starting out with building physical infrastructure like roads and rails in the 2010s. The current phase is focused on connecting trade flows and human mobility via initiatives like visa-free regimes to encourage business and tourism travel.

Once physical and human connectivity are established, the next phase involves digital services integration, the so-called Digital Silk Road.

Trade-wise, some notable Chinese companies are venturing into Central Asia after entering Southeast Asia. Mixue, the popular bubble tea and ice cream chain, opened its first overseas branch in Vietnam in 2018. It has since set up shop in Kazakhstan in April 2025 and then in Kyrgyzstan this June.

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Chinese electric vehicle makers are following a similar trajectory. In the broader new energy vehicle category, brands like BYD, Li Auto, and Geely Galaxy lead the pack in Kazakhstan, the largest automotive market in Central Asia.

In Uzbekistan, EV imports jumped roughly sixfold in early 2026, and the country’s total registered EV fleet reached 86,100 units in December 2025. BYD’s local Jizzakh plant is already ramping toward 40,000 units of production this year as it aims to hit a 200,000-unit annual target by 2030.

Trade over tech, for now

Looking deeper, there is a fundamental difference between the Chinese businesses and entrepreneurs trying to enter Central Asia now compared to those who did so in Southeast Asia almost a decade ago.

Other than large state-owned enterprises and companies engaging in natural resources and infrastructure, most of the Chinese firms in Central Asia are still in traditional businesses.

Going local

What this means for SEA tech