A ceremony was held for the first batch of 1,000 Zhongtong natural gas-powered buses bound for Kyrgyzstan on May 20 in Liaocheng, Shandong province.

This is the largest order for buses a Chinese company has received from the Belt and Road market this year.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov attended the ceremony held at Zhongtong Bus, one of China's leading new energy bus makers.

The ceremony for the first batch of 1,000 Zhongtong natural gas-powered buses bound for Kyrgyzstan is held on May 20 in Liaocheng, Shandong province. [Photo/Dazhong News]

The buses have been customized for Kyrgyzstan's market and emit 20 to 30 percent less emissions compared to fuel-powered vehicles, according to technicians of Zhongtong Bus.

"Our current fuel buses are old and ecologically unfriendly. There is an urgent need to introduce greener and safer clean-energy vehicles," said the mayor of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The mayor added that he was impressed by the advanced technology Zhongtong's factory uses during his visit to the facility.

Zhongtong currently has an annual production capacity of 30,000 large, medium and light buses. Its products are exported to more than 100 countries and regions in the world, and its overseas market share has been steadily rising.

Zhongtong has in recent years been focused on developing new energy buses and hydrogen fuel bus buses. In 2022, the company invested 247 million yuan ($34.92 million) to bolster development efforts for such vehicles.

The production line of Zhongtong Bus in Liaocheng, Shandong province [Photo/Dazhong News]