CBN丨China-Central Asia tourism heats up as visitor numbers soar
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AsChina-CentralAsiatourismheatsup,travelagenciesarelaunchingmoreproductsamidgrowingvisitornumbers;Nvidiawilldebutatthisyear’sCISCE,withUSfirms’participationup15%.
Here’swhatyouneedtoknowaboutChinainthepast24hours
OnMonday,ChinaSouthernAirlinesflightCZ6051,with173passengersonboard,departedfromBeijingforDushanbe,thecapitalofTajikistan,thedebutofthefirstdirectairrouteconnectingthetwocapitals,whichwillbeservicedtwiceaweek,onTuesdaysandSaturdays,CCTVreported.
Increasedconnectivityalongwithvisa-freepoliciesiscontributingtothegrowingtourismexchangesbetweenChinaandCentralAsia,accordingtodatafromChinesetravelagencies,partofabroadertrendofburgeoningties.
ThisyearmarkstheChinatourismyearinKazakhstanandUzbekistan'syearoftourisminChina.MoreandmoreChinesetouristsenjoytheconvenienceprovidedbyvisa-freetravelagreementsbetweenChinaandCentralAsiancountries,includingKazakhstanandUzbekistan,accordingtoXinhua.
Trip.comdatashowedthatsincethestartofthisyear,inboundbookingsfromCentralAsiantouristshaverisenby106percentyear-on-year,withthenumberofbookingsfromUzbekistanseeinga164-percentincrease.
CitiessuchasGuangzhou,Hangzhou,andBeijingareamongthetopdestinationsforthesetravelers.OutboundtravelfromChinatoCentralAsiahasalsoincreased74percent,witha60-percentriseinbookingstoUzbekistan,pertheTrip.comdata.
TravelplatformUtourreportedthatthenumberofChinesetouriststravelingtoCentralAsiasofarthisyearhasdoubledyear-on-year.OntheFliggyplatform,bookingsforflightstoKazakhstanandUzbekistanhaveincreasedby60percentand47percent,respectively.
Inresponsetothesetrends,tourismfirmsaremakingarrangementstolaunchmoreproductsthissummer.Shanghai-basedSpringTravelissettolaunchtwoCentralAsia-themedtourismproducts,theIn-depthKazakhstanTourandtheKazakhstan-Uzbekistandual-countrytour.
Leveraginganewvisa-freepolicyenactedonJune1,Uzbekistanintendstoattract1millionChinesetouristsinthemediumterm,accordingtoLazizKudratov,Uzbekistan'sministerofinvestment,industryandtrade.
"Weareestablishingourselvesasaprimarydestinationfortouristsfromaroundtheworld,andChinesetourismisausefulindexofthisindustry'srecentgrowth.In2024,werecordedanincreaseof75percentinthenumberofChinesetouristsvisitingUzbekistan,"Kudratovsaid.
ChinaisoneofthemostimportantsourcesoftouristsforKazakhstantoo.DatafromtheMinistryofTourismandSportsofKazakhstanshowedthatin2024,visitsbyChinesetouristsreached655,000,up78percentyear-on-year.
GBAexpress
HongKongisastrongcontenderforthenumberonepositionintheglobalinitialpublicofferingmarketin2025.EdwardAu,southernregionmanagingpartnerofDeloitteChinasaidthefirmmaintainsitsfull-yearforecastofaround80newlistingsinthecity,raisingfundsbetweenHKD130billionand150billion.LouisLau,partnerandheadofHongKongcapitalmarketsgroupatKPMGChina,saidtheHongKongstockmarkethosted27IPOsintotalinthefirstfivemonthsofthisyear,raisingapproximatelyHKD77.7billion.Thisfigurerepresentsanincreaseofmorethaneighttimesthatofthesameperiodlastyear.ShenzhenStockExchangeannouncedonMondaythatCATLhasbeenaddedtotheSouthboundStockConnecteligiblesecuritieslist,withtheadjustmenttakingeffectimmediately.CATLwasaddedtoShanghai-HongKongStockConnectonJune14.TheexchangealsoadjustedtheconstituentsformajorindicesincludingtheShenzhenComponentIndexandChiNextIndex,addingmorecompaniesfromemergingandhigh-techindustries.FoshanHaitianFlavouring&FoodCohasraisedHKD10.1billionafterrobustdemandforitssharestobelistedinHongKongthatallowedtheChinesemainland’sbiggestsoysaucemakertoincreasethedealsize.Thecompanysold279millionsharesatHKD36.30each,thetopendofthemarketedpricerange.Thefund-raisingendsonMonday,oversubscribingbynearly700times.Geely-backedride-hailingfirmCaocaoannouncedtodayitwillgopublicontheHongKongStockExchangeonJune25.Caocaoplanstoissue44.17millionsharesatanofferingpriceofHKD41.94apiece,aimingtoraiseaboutHKD1.9billion.ReitarLogtech,anHongKonglogisticstechnologyfirm,saidonMondayitplanstoapplyforastablecoinissuerlicenseoncethecity’snewregulationstakeeffectonAugust1.ReitaraimstolaunchitsownHongKongdollar-peggedstablecoin,RHKD,whichwillmainlybeusedforpaymentsandsettlementsincross-bordere-commerce,logistics,andsupplychains.HongKongwelcomedabout4.08millionvisitorarrivalsinMay,a20percentyear-on-yearincrease,primarilydrivenbytheChinesemainland’sMayDaybreak,andmajorlocaleventssuchasconcertsandexhibitions.TheHongKongTourismBoardsaidonMondaythattouristarrivalsoverthefirstfivemonthsof2025amountedtoover20million,up12percentfromthesameperiodlastyear.Meanwhile,atotalof100millioninboundandoutboundpassengertripswererecordedin2025viacheckpointsinZhuhaiconnectingtoMacaoandHongKongbySunday,22daysearlierthanlastyear.ThePeople'sBankofChinawillissuethisyear'sfourthbatchofcentralbankbillsworthCNY30billionwithamaturityofsixmonthsinHongKong,withtheSARbecomingtheworld'slargestoffshoreyuancenter.
Industryandcompanynews
The3rdChinaInternationalSupplyChainExpo(CISCE)isscheduledtobeheldinBeijingfromJuly16-20,withparticipationalreadybeatingexpectations.ThenumberofUSexhibitorshasincreasedby15percentcomparedwithlastyear,whilechipgiantNvidiawilldebutattheexpothisyear,saidYuJianlong,vicechairmanoftheChinaCouncilforthePromotionofInternationalTrade,onTuesday.Over650Chineseandforeignenterprisesandinstitutionsfrom75countriesandregionswillparticipateintheexpo.FortuneGlobal500companiesandleadingenterprisesaccountforover65percentofalltheparticipants.China'sCOMACpennedMoUswithFrenchaircraftenginemakerSafranandUSindustrialproductsmakerCraneonC929,theAirbusA330neoandBoeing787Dreamliner'scompetitor,attheParisAirShowyesterday,wheretheChineseplanemakershowcasedthebasicmodelsofC909,C919andC929.Tencenthaslaunchedaglobalalgorithmcompetitionaimedatattractingnewprofessionaltalent,offeringaprizepoolofCNY3.6million.ThecontestchallengesteamsofcontestantstodevelopAImodelrecommendationsusingimage,textandbehavioraltools.ThetopteamwillwinCNY2million,andmembersofthetop10teamswillbeeligibleforfull-timejobs.ChinawillrolloutitsdeparturetaxrefundpolicyinDalian,northeasternLiaoningprovince,andcentralHubeiprovincefromJuly1,thefinanceministrysaidyesterday.Overseastouristscanclaimbackvalue-addedtaxoneligiblepurchasesmadeatdesignatedtaxrefundstoresbeforeleavingthecountry.China'scross-bordere-commerceexportsexceededCNY2trillionforthefirsttimelastyear,up16.9percentfromthepreviousyear,China’scustomssaidyesterday.TheUSwasChina'slargestexportmarket,accountingfor36percent.GoldmanSachsissuedalistofChina'stopprivatecompanies,dubbedthe"Prominent10,"whichitcalledacounterparttothe"MagnificentSeven"intheUS.TheyareTencent,Alibaba,Xiaomi,BYD,Meituan,NetEase,Midea,HengruiPharmaceuticals,Ctrip,andAnta,whichcollectivelyrepresentUSD1.6trillioninmarketcapandmakeup42percentoftheMSCIChinaIndex.Goldmanprojectsthe"Prominent10"willshow13percentcompoundannualearningsgrowthinthenexttwoyears.
Asia-Pacifichighlights
TheopeningceremonyofKazakhstan's"ChinaTourismYear"washeldonMondayattheNationalMuseumofKazakhstan,witharound300guestsfromChinaandKazakhstanattending.Asamajorhighlightoftheevent,theexhibitiontitled"SilkandtheSilkRoad:FromChinatoKazakhstan"alsoopenedonthesamedayattheNationalMuseum.Meitu,aChinesephotoandvideoeditingapp,hastoppedtheAppStoredownloadchartinCambodia,Laos,andBruneiwithinaweekandthePhoto&VideocategoryontheAppStorein11SoutheastAsianandEuropeancountries.TheLabubufeverisnowsweepingAustralia,withcustomersforminglonglinesatstoresforthetoysinmajorcities,permediareports.ThequirkymonsterdollsfromChina'sPopMartaredrawinghugecrowds,includingmanyadultshoppers,tostoresinSydney,MelbourneandBrisbane.
Editor:LIYanxia
Host:StephanieLI
Writer:StephanieLI
SoundEditor:StephanieLI
GraphicDesigner:ZHENGWenjing,LIAOYuanni
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