{"id":476746,"date":"2026-07-13T21:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=72639"},"modified":"2026-07-13T21:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:05:08","slug":"russia-worried-about-chinese-locomotives-in-central-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=476746","title":{"rendered":"Russia worried about Chinese locomotives in Central Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"

China is selling its rolling stock in more and more markets. A notable growth region for Chinese enterprises is Central Asia, where their locomotives are becoming increasingly common. The Russian rolling stock manufacturer Sinara Group worries about the growing competition.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Anton Zubikhin, the deputy general director of the Sinara Group, called for resistance against the Chinese advances in Central Asia. Sinara Group owns several rolling stock manufacturing plants in Russia.<\/p>\n

Zubikhin is particularly worried about Russia\u2019s customs union, which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Russia used to be the dominant foreign partner for all of these countries, but the union could turn into a rail weak spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cChinese companies are already obtaining certificates of conformity for industrial locomotives in the customs union countries, which gives them direct access to Russian customers\u201d, Zubikhin is quoted as saying in LogiStan.<\/p>\n

Dumping<\/h2>\n

\u201cThe main risk is the dumping practices of new entrants. In their bid to establish a foothold quickly, they are prepared to undercut prices, which in the long term undermines the development of the railway engineering sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

This could prove to be an obstacle to Russia\u2019s objective of becoming independent from foreign tech, according to Zubikhin. \u201cWe face the challenge of achieving technological sovereignty in railway equipment. We must counter this emerging expansion through decisions taken by government bodies and certification authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanctions and interest rates<\/h2>\n

Still, dumping is not the only thing that is helping the Chinese establish a foothold in traditionally Russian-dominated markets. There is a risk of secondary sanctions when purchasing Russian rolling stock, which was the primary reason for Georgian Railways<\/a> to opt for Chinese rather than Russian locomotives.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the interest rate in Russia remains high, which makes it impossible to acquire funding against competitive rates, the Kazakh rail freight association explained in 2025.<\/p>\n