Central Asia Market Intelligence

Since July, the European heat wave has driven a surge in orders for air conditioners and refrigerators. The Shandong China-Europe freight train home appliance supply chain train departs from the Qingdao Cooperation Demonstration Zone and reaches its destination in as fast as 15 days to "replenish" overseas markets. In the first half of the year, Qingdao's exports of cool home appliances were 8.69 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.3%.

Zibo Huantai Baoen Group is one of the largest exporters of leather and genuine leather sofas in Shandong. In 2026, it listed Russia and Central Asia as key markets for development, and established a "Central Asia Russian Regional Trade Representative" to develop sofa products that meet local needs. Foreign trade orders increased by 10% year-on-year in the first half of the year.

The 23rd Qingdao International Furniture Fair was held at the Hongdao International Convention and Exhibition Center from May 15th to 18th. The 2026 Furniture and Home Cross-Border Supply and Demand Matchmaking Conference was held at the same time.Central Asia was listed as a key emerging blue ocean market to be developed, and a number of preliminary cooperation intentions were reached on site.

In early May, the Linyi economic and trade delegation brought 28 companies to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to hold a China-Uzbekistan economic and trade matchmaking meeting. Focusing on docking in areas such as sheet metal and home furnishings, China and Uzbekistan's overseas warehouses were simultaneously unveiled, opening up a two-way trade channel between Shandong and Uzbekistan.