at one time representing one third of the country's gdp, it is easily the biggest market in

kyrgyz, and one of the biggest markets in all of asia. the two-story stalls are all made of up of used truck containers. the second level is used to store goods. in the past, buying a store could cost $100,000. it's an endless sea of products. they say the only thing not for sale the people. everything from electronics to undergarments can be found here. 60% of the products sold inside the d.a. bazaar are inexpensive items made in china. products are put into trucks in

china, then driven across the border, directly into the market. the sheer volume of transactions led to a dedicated customs office being set up inside the bazaar, specializing in china-made products. dordoi bazaar got its start in the early 1990s after the breakup of the soviet union, a few stalls in a barren area outside of the city. the man who established dordoi is now it's honorary president. he believes the bazaar's success comes down to its location along the famous silk road trading route. >> translator: dordoi is a place for reexporting, as we call it.

products from here go on to russia, is as act stan, uzbekistan, and tajikistan. they are sent on. dordoi is like a bridge, a way point for product. >> the bazaar's annual sales total billions of dollars. 80% of that number comes from customers who are visiting from other former soviet republics. >> dordoi imports products from

china and sells them on. it has grown rapidly as a major hub for this so-called transit trade thanks to a change in kyrgyz ace policy. >> translator: how did dordoi get so big? because in 1998, kyrgyz's customs were liberalized. what that means is that customs duties here became cheaper than in other countries. >> kyrgyzstan was the first former soviet republic to join the wto. it enacted free trade policies to stimulate economic growth. to raise its competitiveness, it set customs duties at a far lower rate than other former soviet countries. at the same time, its neighbor, china, was becoming the world's factory, focusing on rapid economic growth. with such low customs duties, products from china could enter

kyrgyzstan with hardly any change in price. and because the other former soviet republics also had will you duties, goods could pass through dordoi on to other countries and still remain cheap. dordoi bazaar is a shop paradise. people opened up stores here lured by the promise of big profits until it reached its current size. this is gulya, who runs a lingerie store. vy she returned from russia, where she was a migrant worker, six years ago to achieve her dream, opening a store in dordoi. she chose underwear because it sells all year round, whatever the season. >> translator: in summer, red sells well.

beige does, too n. winter, it's navy or black. those are the big sellers then. under the soviet union, we didn't have all these colors. everything was black, white, or beige. >> every item in her shop is 150 sam, about $2.50. that's about half the price of other stores.

it is a low margin, high turn over strategy. but in the past two years, the number of customers has decreased and business has gotten tougher. >> translator: now i barely sell 3,000 sam a day, each on a good day i only sell 6,000. i used to sell 20,000 sam worth of merchandise on some days. 20,000. i'm worried that fewer customers are coming to the bazaar. it's because of the customs union. >> gulya's comment about the customs union refers to a new economic grouping led by russia. russia, the regional power, wanted to boost its economic ties with the former soviet

republics. vladimir putin, at the time, russia's prime minister, spearheaded a new customs union. it began in 2010 with three countries, russia, belarus, and is as act stan. -- kazakhstan. the agreement removes customs duties and various restrictions between members. the idea is to promote trade through free movement of goods. on the other hand, imports from countries outside the agreement are subject to weight limits and high tariffs. for kyrgyzstan, the agreement was like a massive wall blocking it off from the silk road. the dordoi bazaar is dependent on transit trade. if goods cannot move freely, that's a massive blow. the number of foreign merchants here has dropped to a quarter of

what it once was. can the bazaar keep going? the mood has been gloomy. >> some have already had enough. they have closed up shop and left the bazaar. >> one person is especially concerned about the worsening economic climate here.

the chair woman of the bazaar's trade union. >> she visits individual store owners to listen to their concerns. the union's newspaper has addressed some of the issues raised by the bazaar's merchants. >> translator: we've spent a year constantly explaining to people about the customs union in the newspaper's q and a column.

but sales were so bad in january, february, march, and april, that everyone is worried. that's the general mood. we're trying to lift people's spirits. we interviewed the minister and deputy minister of the economy to try and reassure people. >> the kyrgyz government has explained very little about the new customs union. the merchants have had to seek out answers for themselves. after the fall of the soviet union, the chairwoman went from being a doctor to being a merchant. for a quarter century, she has watched over dordoi like a mother. but the future looks bleak.

in 2011, vladimir putin announced a scaled up version of the customs union, the usualan economic union. it began in 2015. it recognizes the free movement of people, products and services creating a sim similar to that of the eu. kyrgyz was urged to join. should they join? should they stay out? opinions at the bazaar are widely split.

>> if kyrgyzstan joins, items would be able to move without restriction and it's possible some foreign traders would return to the bazaar. but it could also threaten the very foundation of dordoi's existence. kyrgyzstan's low customs duties would have to be adjusted to match those of other member states. the duties will almost double. dordoi will probably lose imports from china. >> translator: as the chair woman of dordoi bazaar's trade union, i oppose kyrgyzstan joining the eeu. that would be a huge blow to many merchants. 80% of dordoi's jobs are based on reexports. once we join up, we can no longer do that. it would be impossible, right?

>> whether or not to join the eeu has been a question of life and death for the bazaar. the decision could cause huge damage to the national economy. and there were other crucial issues regarding membership. a panel discussion was broadcast in december, 2014, about the question of joining the eeu. >> translator: kyrgyzstan's economic structure is different from that of russia, kazakhstan, belarus. we have no manufacturing and our economy is founded on trade and the service industry. how will we survive in this economic union? >> translator: if we join this economic union, workers in member states will no longer need to apply for special working permits to find work in other member countries. for example, people in kyrgyzstan will have the right to work in russia. belarus, or kazakhstan.

>> amid differing opinions, the kyrgyz's deputy minister of economy has talked up the benefits that membership will bring, including to the financial and manufacturing sethors. the key point happen immigrant workers. >> translator: if we join, kyrgyz's migrant workers will see a clear benefit. the situation in the service industry may also improve. but we will see increased competition. >> members of the eeu have freedom of movement extended to people, as well as goods. those who aren't members might see hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in russia lose their jobs. it was a tough decision for kyrgyzstan, but on may 8th, 2015, it decided to join the eeu.

>> the eeu has generated great uncertainty in dordoi bazaar. however, some people are beginning to open upewshops. this is june high bazaar, an area of dordoi withotsf shops owned by people from china. >> translator: we plan to expand

and build new stores here. we're building something new. we've got a lot of interest from chinese bussn. they want to set up a major wholesale outlet here. we hav55 businessmen from china. they've been investigating the bazaar for a week. >> she runs the joon hi chapter of bazaar's trade union. she is using her long standing neork of connections to discuss opportunities with chinese business people. >> translator: these people want to work with us directly. we said our store area would be expanding this year. and we also said, of course,

that we're welcoming new investment. that was the conversation. >> chinese business people with factories in the coastal province of jay jong, 4,000 kilometers away from kyrgyzstan, are eager to sell high-quality products here. the reason lies in the regulations of the eeu. products sold within the borders of member states must meet the same quality controls. a lot of the cheap, low quality chinese products sold in dordoi will be shut out. instead, more expensive, higher quality products will probably need to be imported. higher customs duties means higher prices, butting chinese firms at a disadvantage. but by quickly meeting the new demand for higher quality products, they can seize new

opportunities. her plan is to have new stores that sell only higher quality products. she wants to take advantage of china's new business strength. >> translator: i'm thinking we should sell items partly made in kyrgyzstan, not just finished products. we can do that with chinese technologies. >> chinese firms have begun moving into kyrgyzstan. the change is part of a major chinese national strategy.

strategy involves an economic zone encompassing land and sea routes with the silk road at its heart. central asian countries along the silk road are a vital area for china. chinese president xi jinping has visited kyrgyzstan in an effort to strengthen relations. chinese infrastructure investment in kyrgyzstan will reach $3 billion. one major highway stretches about 550 kilometers from

kyrgyzstan from the chinese border to the kaz act border. the chinese government has paid for its construction. china is making its presence felt here. this expert on central asian trade is researching the future potential of kyrgyzstan. >> translator: kyrgyzstan already has the logistical infrastructure for exporteding goods. if china opens a factory here, it's not because of our population, which is small. it's because china has all the eurasian markets in its sights. >> she is working hard to support many of the bazaar's

members, many of whom are uncertain about the new eeu membership. now one big problem is rearing its head. >> she receives a report that vehicles entering kyrgyzstan by road are suddenly being hit with a new tax. this expensive new levee means trucks from neighboring kazakhstan coming to dordoi are turning around at the border. she heads straight to the border to talk things out face to face. the environmental tax was approved by the kyrgyz parliament last year, but the president only signed it into law in may, 2015.

it's now come into force. she rounds on a kyrgyz mp who has rushed to the scene. >> the mp gives the same answers again and again. she isn't satisfied.

>> she raises various objections, but the law is the law. she says the number of customers at dordoi has continued to fall. >> translator: there were many problems in the bazaar at first. i was always running around fixing them. now i've decided to enter politics. >> after the customs union began in 2011, the dordoi bazaar set up its own political party, the labor party. both she and dordoi's honorary president plan on running in

parliamentary elections in autumn, 2015. >> translator: the borders are about to open. immigrant workers will begin moving freely. cash will begin moving freely as well. the bazaar will shrink. we cannot prevent that from happening. it will gradually get smaller and smaller. i think it's inevitable. our party, first and foremost, exists to protected business people. >> the silk road faces a new era. will the dordoi bazaar survive the changes? its test is just beginning.

♪ >> glad to have you with us on this edition of news line. it's thursday july 2nd, i'm kathryn kob kob in tokyo. islamic militants have unleashed a wave of attacks. they targeted five military checkpoints and they left at least 60 people dead including civilians. the fighters used vehicles carrying explosives and artillery. government forces fought back with jet fighters and helicopters. they say they've killed about 100 attackers. egypt's islamic state affiliate clai