Academicians, officials and young engineers look forward to advancing China‑Central Asia cooperation amid deepening bilateral ties, as both sides grapple with shared challenges of energy transition and climate change.

Abzhapparov Abdumutalip, President of the Central Asian Association for Accreditation of Education, told the Global Times that the building of a common engineering space among our countries hinges directly on young professional talent. He made the remarks at the 2026 China‑Central Asia Young Engineers Exchange Event, held in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, on September 1‑2.

"We believe that young engineers will serve as an important link between our countries. Their professional knowledge, competence, drive, innovative thinking and readiness for international cooperation will open up new opportunities for the technological and economic development of the regions," he said.

As a young‑engineer representative, Kumashkyzy Aikerim from the Kazakhstan branch of China Energy International Group Co., Ltd described young engineers as the most dynamic "technical translators" and vital connecting bonds for China‑Central Asia cooperation.

"Young engineers work on‑site at the construction frontlines and R&D hubs of large‑scale energy, infrastructure and water‑conservancy projects. As implementers of advanced engineering technologies, they translate green‑low‑carbon, smart‑and‑efficient technical blueprints into landmark projects across Central Asia. At the same time, they are builders of cross‑cultural trust. Through day‑to‑day technical troubleshooting, on‑site collaboration and standard alignment, they bridge linguistic and cultural gaps and foster genuine people‑to‑people bonds between young professionals from China, Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asian region," she said.

Enhanced cooperation amid challenges

Greater cooperation among young engineers is particularly needed amid sustained, long‑term demand for engineering professionals driven by major‑infrastructure, energy and climate‑related challenges, Burkitbayev Mukhambetkali Myrzabayevich, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan, told the Global Times.

Against such a backdrop, transport and logistics stand out as one of the most promising areas for practical bilateral cooperation in the years ahead. As in the era of the Silk Road, Central Asia has historically served as a geographic bridge between Europe and China. Progress in this sector calls for specialists in electrical engineering, automation, power electronics and transportation, according to Burkitbayev.

The second priority is energy and decarbonization, which requires expertise in power supply, automation, transportation technologies and renewable‑energy deployment. Third are water‑related and climate issues, core concerns for Central Asian states. Glacier retreat, water scarcity and the urgent need to modernize irrigation systems have driven strong demand for water‑technology specialists, earth remote‑sensing professionals and climate‑change‑modelling specialists. Accordingly, infrastructure‑driven challenges exert profound influence over engineering‑education curricula, the formation of professional‑engineering profiles, and market demand for qualified specialists, according to Burkitbayev.

When asked what collaborative actions young engineers from China and Central Asia could take to tackle shared challenges including energy transition and climate change, Burkitbayev said that above all, universities and technical‑education institutions must scale up engineering training and build competencies required for energy transition. Key fields cover electric power, renewable energy, automation, power electronics and modern transportation technologies, among others. Academic‑exchange programs and joint dual‑degree tracks for engineer training are of great importance.

Looking ahead, Burkitbayev expects China and Central Asia to deliver more tangible outcomes across engineering science, technology and engineering education. In engineering education, joint‑training and dual‑degree programs will expand, together with higher academic mobility for students and faculty. Within engineering sciences, joint research teams will be established to explore cutting‑edge engineering themes. Joint PhD training will move forward, alongside laboratories equipped with state‑of‑the‑art facilities.

Kumashkyzy Aikerim told the Global Times that she hoped the two sides would jointly build a base for joint training of outstanding engineers and a platform for mutual recognition of engineering competencies.

Going beyond mere academic exchanges, this physical platform will effectively combine China's strengths in engineering equipment as well as vocational‑college and university‑level industry‑education integration experience with local engineering needs across Central Asia. Young engineers graduating from the base or obtaining mutually‑recognized qualifications will be able to seamlessly participate in the construction and operation‑maintenance of large‑scale green‑infrastructure projects in Central Asia, while gaining recognition from enterprises in both countries and the global engineering community. This will foster a new regional‑collaboration landscape featuring joint talent cultivation, mutual recognition of standards and shared achievements, she said.

In fact, relevant work is already well underway. During the 2026 China‑Central Asia Young Engineers Exchange Event, the Chinese Society of Engineers signed a letter of intent on cooperation with China Energy International Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited (CEEC), officially launching the joint

development of an Center for Excellence in Engineering Capacity Building in Astana.

Leveraging the center, we will roll out multiple initiatives including localized engineer training programs, study‑tour opportunities for foreign engineers in China, and the development of online course resources. We will actively advance the alignment of Chinese and Kazakh engineering‑technical standards as well as joint talent cultivation, foster young engineering talent, and jointly boost scientific and technological innovation in engineering, Zhang Cong, assistant director of the CEEC Central-Asia Clean Energy Research Institute, told the Global Times.

From projects to joint‑development

During Chinese leaders' recent state visit to Kyrgyzstan, China and Kyrgyzstan signed the Treaty of Permanent Good‑Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation.

The two sides also issued a joint declaration on the high‑quality development of the China‑Kyrgyzstan comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era and witnessed the exchange of bilateral cooperation documents covering investment, transportation, customs and sister‑city relations.

Experts noted that such top‑level policy design provides solid political support for engineer‑level cooperation between the two sides.

Ji Chenglong, Executive Project Manager of the Light Rail Project at China State Construction Sixth Engineering Bureau China State Construction Bridge Co., Ltd., pointed out that as China‑Central Asia cooperation deepens, the biggest opportunity for engineers on both sides lies in growing platforms for technical exchanges, joint problem‑solving and experience‑sharing anchored in major‑project delivery. In the past, cooperation largely focused on solving specific technical problems within individual projects. Today, channels including young‑engineer forums, university partnerships and technical seminars make it possible to turn project‑derived practical experience into long‑term, regularized cooperation.

Faced with challenges brought by energy transition, climate change and artificial intelligence, Ji suggested that cooperation should start from tangible engineering scenarios. Joint‑research and technical‑exchange mechanisms could be set up focusing on the safety and durability of infrastructure under extreme‑climate conditions, green low‑carbon construction, clean‑energy deployment, energy‑saving retrofits for existing infrastructure, and digital‑intelligent technologies to boost project efficiency.

Zhang stressed the need for joint development of standards for large‑scale new‑energy base construction.

Central Asian countries are endowed with rich natural resources and have demonstrated strong political will for energy transition and carbon reduction. Still, they face a prominent spatial mismatch between resource‑rich zones and power‑load centers, a challenge highly similar to China's experience with its large‑scale desert‑based new‑energy bases and the west‑to‑east power transmission program.

China has accumulated rich engineering experience and standard systems in developing large‑scale new‑energy bases, ultra‑high‑voltage long‑distance power transmission, and source‑grid‑load‑storage coordination. It is expected that China and Central Asian nations can closely integrate China's experience in building new‑type power systems with local practical demands, and carry out in‑depth cooperation across the full chain of planning, construction and operation of large‑scale new‑energy bases. More importantly, full‑scale engineering practices at these bases will validate and optimize Chinese technologies, equipment and standards in diverse overseas contexts, while practical engineering outcomes from Central Asia will feed back into domestic standard upgrading to achieve two‑way empowerment, Zhang said.

To deliver such goals, cooperation must go beyond energy‑project execution. It also calls for integrated collaboration in aligning development philosophies, drawing lessons from each other's technical standards, and jointly cultivating young talent, Zhang said.