China has succeeded in muscling aside Russia as Central Asia’s top trade partner. Now, Beijing appears intent on capturing a share of the regional arms market.

Until very recently, China was a non-factor as an arms supplier to Central Asian states. For most of the post-Soviet era, Russia dominated the regional arms market, especially in sales to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. But Russia’s arms exports have plummeted since the Russian army became bogged down in Ukraine, opening up opportunities for other nations, including Turkey, Belarus, France, Spain and Italy, to boost sales.

China is also entering the mix. In 2024, Beijing reportedly supplied drones to Kazakhstan and in February sold anti-aircraft systems to Uzbekistan. Now, reports are circulating that Tashkent is pondering a major purchase of Chinese-made fighter jets. A report published by defense-blog.com indicates the deal may involve JF-17s, which are jointly designed by China and Pakistan.

Its designers tout JF-17s as an “advanced, lightweight, all weather, day/night multi-role fighter aircraft … [possessing] excellent air-to-air and air-to-surface combat capabilities.”

If the deal is completed, it would mark a sales coup for Beijing. Uzbek officials were reportedly considering purchasing French-made Rafale fighters before Chinese officials pressed their sales pitch. The JF-17s are reportedly less expensive to maintain than Rafale fighters and require less extensive pilot training.

An announcement of a Chinese sale of fighters coming so soon after the Central Asia-European Union summit would help reinforce the notion that Central Asia has become China’s economic backyard.

From 2018-23, China sold arms to about 40 nations, mainly in Africa and across Asia, good for 5.8% of all global arms exports during that period. Only the United States, France and Russia had higher global market shares during that six-year span.

This article first appeared on Eurasianet here.