Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov anticipates that China will extend the operating hours of border checkpoints with the Kyrgyz Republic to a 24-hour schedule. He expressed this expectation in an interview with Xinhua.
Zhaparov noted that since March 2024, the Kyrgyz checkpoints Torugart and Irkeshtam have been functioning around the clock.
Before 2024, the checkpoints on the Chinese side were only open for eight hours each weekday. Last year, they operated for 14 hours daily.
The checkpoints on the Kyrgyz-Chinese border are particularly popular with Uzbek carriers, as transit flows from China to Uzbekistan primarily pass through the Osh Region of Kyrgyzstan.
It is worth mentioning that mutual trade between Kyrgyzstan and China reached $22.7 bn in 2024.
Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports that residents and visitors to Uzbekistan would have the option to register for a paid service that enables expedited border crossing.
