The EurAsia Economic Union (EAEU) and China plan to start rail freight transportation using electronic waybills with paperless technology. “The work conducted in 2025 on the China route allowed for starting trial shipments using electronic waybills and paperless technology between Russia and China this year,” a statement from EAEU said.
A clearer timeline was not provided, but the initiative comes after the system was implemented between Russia-Belarus and Russia-Kazakhstan. “Following the plan’s implementation at the inner boundary in 2025 the volume of shipments using electronic shipping documents between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus reached 94%, and between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan – 81%,” Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) added in the statement.
Kazakhstan takes the lead
Whilst all members of the EAEU are invested in the project, one of the bigger drivers is Kazakhstan, which has a lot at stake as it plans to be a key East-West node and major commodity exporter. Last year, trade among EAEU member states reached $95 billion and is projected to grow by 7.3% to $102 billion this year. Digital trade, artificial intelligence and improved market access were identified as key priorities for the Council, according to Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
One particular engine of growth is food. In 2025, the volume of supplies of products of animal and plant origin, as well as finished food products, amounted to about $7 billion. In January–May 2026, this indicator reached $3.6 billion. On the other hand, the Kazakh side emphasized the advisability of systematically and comprehensively monitoring the conditions for access of food products to the member states.
Kazakhstan also highlighted digitalisation as a strategic priority, with Bektenov noting 2026 has been declared the Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence in Kazakhstan. One of the highlights is the creation of a data centre valley in Ekibastuz, northwest of Astana. “The launch of the first 125 MW of computing capacity is scheduled for June of next year”, Bektenov said.
Automation starting to take off
The next stage of automated control and decision-making mechanisms that speed up the clearance of goods and reduce the volume of manual operations, as reported by Kazinform. Among the most visible results of these is the development of mechanisms for the automatic release of goods. Statistics show that automation is becoming an important part of customs administration in all countries of the EAEU.
In Kazakhstan, the share of automatic release of export goods reached 80% in 2025, with import goods at 48%. In Belarus, these figures were 77% and 10.7%, respectively. In Russia 43% and 22%. In Armenia, 74% of declarations are issued through the “green corridor” system, of which 8.4% are issued automatically. Though varied, these figures show the general trend of the increasing importance of automated procedures.
Kazakhstan is also prominent here with rail a key part of it. An example is the automation of the clearance of rail container transportation to third countries. “Automation of the process of declaring the transit of goods transported by container trains provides for the rejection of paper documents, as well as the registration and issuance of transit declarations in automatic mode,” the EEC explained. The practical effect was significant: the time for passing state control by one container train was reduced from three hours to thirty minutes.