Because energy and raw materials are the major export goods of Central Asian countries,
the trading structure among the countries is highly homogeneous. There is thus
more competition than cooperation among the Central Asian countries. In addition, the
industry chain of energy and raw materials is too short to create intra-industry or even
intraproduct divisions of labor. Therefore, Central Asian countries could not have close
industry links to promote mutual trade growth as do their counterparts in East Asia.