Science without borders: a new milestone in Kyrgyz–Chinese cooperation — a joint laboratory for functional agriculture to be opened at JASU

On June 28, 2026, the Rector of Jalal-Abad State University named after B. Osmonov (JASU), Keneshbek Zhumabekovich Usenov, paid a working visit to the Key Laboratory of Bio-Intelligent Manufacturing for Functional Agriculture of Xinjiang and to Xinjiang Vocational and Technical University (PRC). The meeting was chaired by Vice-Rector of Xinjiang Vocational and Technical University, Yi Xiaokang. Presentations were delivered by Shi Changqing, Secretary of the Party Committee of the university, JASU Rector K. Z. Usenov, and laboratory director Ren Maozhi. The JASU delegation also included Jin Yan, Director of the Confucius Institute at the university, and Talaybek Umetov, Director of the Institute for Professional Development of Personnel and Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor.

Following the meeting, the parties decided to establish a joint functional agriculture laboratory at JASU in the Manas campus area, as well as a similar base in the Kizilsu region. Both sites will have the status of joint bases of JASU and the Xinjiang Key Laboratory and will operate under the JASU brand.

This decision continues the previously signed five-party agreement on the establishment of a China–Kyrgyzstan Demonstration Base for Functional Agriculture under the Belt and Road Initiative, which brought together JASU, the Institute of Urban Agriculture of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinjiang Vocational and Technical University, the Kizilsu Vocational and Technical Institute, and the Key Laboratory of Xinjiang. The partnership focuses on the development of selenium-enriched agricultural products, microalgae-based biofertilizers, feed production, and agricultural waste recycling.

The parties are finalizing preparations for the shipment of scientific equipment and seed materials to Kyrgyzstan, most of which has already been procured. A separate agreement is being developed to ensure expedited customs clearance in China. The Jalal-Abad region is located along a key section of the under-construction China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, which creates additional opportunities for cooperation; the project also relies on the Confucius Institute at JASU as a platform for humanitarian and scientific-technical exchange.

After the delivery of equipment, the parties plan to launch the joint laboratory at JASU and the base in the Kizilsu region — marking another practical step in advancing scientific and technical cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.