Silk Road Commerce Scales New Heights as China-SCO Trade Surges
China's trade with fellow members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has reached record levels in 2025, underlining the bloc's growing weight in Eurasian commerce and the shifting geography of global supply chains.
From January to July, China's imports and exports with SCO partners totaled 2.11 trillion yuan ($295.6 billion), up 3 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs. July alone stood out with 326.05 billion yuan, an 8.5 percent jump and the strongest monthly performance this year.
Agriculture has been a clear driver. Exports of Chinese agricultural machinery and pesticide formulations to SCO members surged 47.8 percent and 30.3 percent, while imports of their agricultural products grew 6.2 percent. The figures highlight a widening two-way flow: Central Asia's farmlands supplying staple goods, while China provides the tools and technology to raise yields. For businesses watching regional demand, this blend of resource supply and industrial upgrading signals a market evolving beyond the traditional energy trade.
The momentum is not new. Since the SCO's founding in 2001, its trade with China has multiplied more than 36-fold, reaching 3.65 trillion yuan in 2024. Infrastructure linkages—rail corridors, border hubs, energy pipelines—have stitched together routes once considered peripheral. In practice, this means fewer bottlenecks, faster customs clearance, and a smoother flow of goods across Eurasia. For banks, insurers, and logistics firms, such connectivity translates into both opportunity and new complexities in managing risk and compliance.
Economists describe the SCO as a “continental supply chain laboratory.” By aligning markets that span from the Pacific to Europe's edge, it offers a hedge against maritime chokepoints and geopolitical turbulence. The recent trade surge illustrates that businesses plugged into these overland networks—whether through agricultural trade, machinery, or logistics—are positioned to benefit from a corridor that is rapidly becoming central to global commerce.
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