A train heading for Central Asia is seen at Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province on Tuesday. In May, China-Europe trains originating from Lianyungang saw a year-on-year increase of 13.98 percent. Photo: cnsphoto

Chinese stock market investors are increasingly interested in companies that have connections with Central Asian countries, the Global Times has learned.

At least a dozen companies listed in China's A-share market have responded to investors' inquiries online about whether they have any business involvement with Central Asian countries. It comes against the backdrop of high-level meetings and interactions between China and Central Asian countries.

Companies in infrastructure and logistics are drawing the most attention among domestic investors, and the much-anticipated China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is a focus of their interest.

China High-Speed Railway Technology (CHSR), a leading supplier for China's high-speed railway and urban rail transit systems, responded to investors at an interactive platform on Wednesday, saying that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project is still in its early stages, but the company is actively following it and seeking cooperation. 

The planned total length of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway will be about 523 kilometers, of which 213 kilometers are in China, 260 kilometers in Kyrgyzstan and about 50 kilometers in Uzbekistan.

After completion, it will be the shortest freight route from China to Europe and the Middle East, shortening the freight distance by 900 kilometers and cutting the journey time by seven to eight days, media reports said.

The current railway line in the region needs further expansion to meet the booming demand for economic and trade development, and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, as the major focus of regional infrastructure cooperation, will surely create a very positive outcome and facilitate economic and trade development in the region and beyond, Liu Zongyi, secretary-general of the Research Center for China-South Asia Cooperation at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Other inquiries from investors focus on trade, infrastructure and energy cooperation in the region.

The interest among investors has been spurred by recent high-level meetings between the leaders of China and these countries, which may be followed by the signing of cooperative agreements, Liu said.

Central Asia is an important transportation hub and a bridge connecting the East and the West, which defines its increasingly important role as the focus of the construction projects of China's Belt and Road Initiative, Liu also noted.