General

During the talks between the two heads of state, they spoke highly of the cooperation achievements of the 10 years since the the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward to jointly build international trade. The two sides reaffirmed that they will further strengthen regional connectivity, give full play to the potential of mutual trade, investment and cross-border transport, and deepen practical cooperation in various fields under the "the Belt and Road" framework.

Improve the level of connectivity

Kazakhstan, which spans the Eurasian continent, is one of the 14 neighboring countries bordering China, a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and a pioneer of the Silk Road Economic Belt. In the future, both sides are willing to continuously improve the level of connectivity, enhance cross-border cargo transportation and port passing capabilities, deepen practical cooperation between China Europe freight trains and the Cross Caspian Sea International Transport Corridor, and promote land sea intermodal transportation.

The reporter learned that during President Tokayev's visit to China, the National Development and Reform Commission of China and the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly conducting preliminary research on the third cross-border railway between China and Kazakhstan.

President Tokayev stated that he plans to open the Ayaguz Bakt Railway to China and repair the railway line between Dostok Moint. At that time, there will be an opportunity to transport up to 20 million tons of goods annually through the railway. President Tokayev believes that revitalizing transportation between Europe and Asia and developing intermodal international transportation routes across the Caspian Sea are very important, and "this transportation route has a promising future".

Expand bilateral economic exchanges

In 2022, the international trade volume between China and Kazakhstan reached a new historical high, and Kazakhstan's exports to China increased by more than one-third. Currently, China is Kazakhstan's second largest trading partner. Moreover, China is one of the five major foreign investment countries in Kazakhstan, with a total investment in Kazakhstan exceeding 23 billion US dollars. In the future, China and Kazakhstan will further expand international trade and promote trade facilitation, expanding cooperation in new fields such as e-commerce, big data, artificial intelligence, and 5G.

In the field of e-commerce, Harbin enterprises prefer to use Chinese electronic trading platforms. In March of this year, Kazakhstan signed an agreement with JD.com to open the Kazakhstan National Pavilion. Chinese consumers can purchase some Kazakh products at the Kazakhstan National Pavilion, and Kazakhstan also plans to supply food such as sunflower seed oil, candy, and beverages to the Chinese market in the future. At the same time, Kazakhstan is preparing to open new customs warehouses to further shorten the cycle of two-way cargo transportation between Central Asia and China. China and Kazakhstan will have more opportunities for cooperation in the field of e-commerce, promoting the continuous rise of bilateral trade.

In the automotive industry, Chinese automotive products have gradually been understood and recognized by the Kazakh market in recent years. Chery, Jianghuai, Xingtu, and Haval have become best-selling car brands in Harbin. At present, multiple Chinese automobile brands have achieved assembly and production in Kazakhstan. In the future, China and Kazakhstan will strengthen cooperation in the automotive field.

In the field of new energy, President Tokayev welcomed Chinese investors to inspect and join in investing in the new energy field of Kazakhstan during his attendance at the China Kazakhstan Investment Roundtable in Xi'an on the 18th. At present, China State Power Investment Group is actively investing in projects in the green energy field of Kazakhstan, planning to build thermal power plants in southern Kazakhstan. The company and Kazakhstan have also discussed the prospects of cooperation in the field of green hydrogen production.

In the field of financial services, China and Kazakhstan are also deepening the participation of Chinese financial institutions in the Astana International Financial Center business on the Kazakh side. Currently, more than 1800 companies from 73 countries have registered at the Astana International Financial Center, with one tenth of them being Chinese companies. In addition, China International Finance Corporation is considering opening a regional office in Kazakhstan in the future.

Comprehensively deepen agricultural cooperation

According to statistics from Kazakhstan, in the past five years, the number of oil seeds exported by Kazakhstan to China has increased by 3.5 times, and the export of vegetable oil to China has doubled. At the "Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the the Belt and Road Initiative and the Sino Kazakhstan Commodity Exhibition" held in Xi'an recently, there were 11 groups of 22 Sino Kazakhstan enterprises signing cooperation documents. Kailat Torebayev, Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan, said, "The increasing demand for high-quality agricultural products from China's middle class is our big market. We hope that in the future, Kazakhstan and China can strengthen international trade and logistics cooperation and deepen cooperation in the field of agricultural products

It is reported that the General Administration of Customs of China and the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan have signed protocols on quarantine requirements for sunflowers, safflower, soybean and flaxseed meal plants imported from Kazakhstan to China, protocols on quarantine requirements for lentils and pea plants imported from Kazakhstan to China, and protocols on aquatic products imported from Kazakhstan to China.

In the future, both sides will comprehensively deepen agricultural cooperation, strengthen cooperation on food security, promote agricultural investment and trade exchanges, and enhance the level of technology and industrial exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in areas such as water-saving irrigation, animal husbandry and veterinary medicine, agricultural machinery, and comprehensive utilization of saline alkali land.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the "the Belt and Road" initiative for international trade, and the cooperation between China and Kazakhstan under the framework of this initiative has yielded fruitful results. At present, the "the Belt and Road" initiative and Kazakhstan's "Bright Road" new economic policy are smoothly linked. China and Kazakhstan will continue to firmly support each other, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, seek common development and revitalization, and promote the building of a community of shared future between China and Kazakhstan that is friendly for generations, highly mutual trust, and share weal and woe.