Strategic Energy Map

Gas pipeline

Central Asia–China Gas Pipeline

Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China (Xinjiang). ~1,833 km (Line A/B/C).

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Overview

Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China (Xinjiang). ~1,833 km (Line A/B/C). Capacity ~55 bcm/yr. Commissioned 2009. China's largest source of piped gas imports. Line D under construction will add capacity via Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Geopolitical context

The defining infrastructure of China's expanding influence in Central Asia. Broke Russia's monopoly on Central Asian gas exports — until 2009, Turkmen gas could only reach markets through Russian-controlled pipelines. Turkmenistan's near-total economic dependence on gas exports to China (90%+ of exports) gives Beijing extraordinary leverage over Ashgabat. Line D, routing through Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, would deepen Chinese infrastructure presence in countries that host Russian military bases, creating a complex overlay of Russian security and Chinese economic influence. This pipeline is the physical backbone of the Belt and Road Initiative's energy dimension in Central Asia.

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