A proposal for a new multi-modal transport corridor linking China with the Artic sea was discussed on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization heads of state summit held in Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan on 31 August to 1 September. Entitled the Ob-Irtysh Corridor it begins in China’s north western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and follows the 4,248 kilometres long Irtysh River, through Kazakhstan where it enters the Ob river in Russia and then into the Arctic Ocean. While the Irtysh is the longest tributary river in the world, the entire corridor would span some 5,410 kilometers- It is four times longer than the Rhine River and 1,000 kilometers longer than the Mississippi River. The route connects the New Silk Road with the Northern Sea Route being developed by Russia. It will allow for Chinese cargos to bypass the Bering straits, saving a considerable distance, while giving Landlocked Kazakhstan direct access to the sea.
The project was first proposed by Kazakhstan in 2024 and in 2025 the Eurasia Development Bank published a detailed report, The Irtysh River Basin: Transboundary Challenges and Practical Solutions. The latter proposed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a platform to create a three Irtysh river basis authority including China, Kazakhstan and Russia.
While Russia sees the project as key to developing the Northern Sea Route as does landlocked Kazakhstan, China has been said to be skeptical. Nonetheless an article appearing in the September 1st issue of the South China Morning Post has fueled speculation that the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee is warming to the proposal. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365692/irtysh-river-choke-free-arctic-shipping-gateway-china-needs
The Irtish River is crucial to the economy of the three countries. Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, with a population of 25 million is one of China’s fastest growing regions, In Kazakhstan a third of the population depend on the river for their livelihood and in the heavily industrialist Omsk region it is the only source of water. The report calls for the development of hydraulic infrastructure for hydropower, agriculture and river transport; it also calls for creating a trilateral authority among the three countries in order to develop the corridor. Because the river’s water is under stress, this authority should also regulate the water withdrawals.
Underlining the importance of this corridor the Kazakhstan Transport Ministry has described it, as “connecting the transport corridor of the New Silk Road with the Northern Sea Route, thereby integrating Eurasian transport corridors into the global transport system.
