Bright future for best of friends

Kazakhstan and China forge strong ties over decades of development

Thirty-two years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and Kazakhstan have taken an extraordinary development journey, reaching new heights in such areas as the economy, trade, agriculture, infrastructure, logistics and cultural exchange.

In a recent interview with Xinhuanet in Beijing, Shakhrat Nuryshev, ambassador of Kazakhstan to China, said that as a major trade partner to more than 140 countries and regions worldwide, China's development provides an impetus for global development and progress.

He noted that China and Kazakhstan witnessed a series of high-level and senior visits in 2023 with bilateral ties reaching a new high.

"I believe that the cooperation between Kazakhstan and China in political, economic, trade, energy, transportation, investment and cultural fields will maintain a good development trend in 2024," Nuryshev said.

In 2023, the bilateral trade volume between China and Kazakhstan reached about$41 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32.2 percent. Statistics from the Kazakhstan LS website show that in the first quarter of this year, the trade volume between the two countries achieved$6.2 billion.

Kazakhstan exported 4.9 million metric tons of goods to China, up 32.4 percent year-on-year, with an export value of $3.1 billion, up 22.7 percent year-on-year. Exports of ores and concentrates to China reached 2.2 million tons, a 12 percent increase year-on-year, while exports of oil and petroleum products hit 1.4 million tons, soaring 60 percent year-on-year.

China is currently Kazakhstan's largest trading partner and one of its top five sources of investment, with more than 3,000 Chinese enterprises operating in Kazakhstan. The two sides are jointly advancing the implementation of more than 40 cooperative projects with a total investment exceeding$14.5 billion.

Agricultural trade

Kazakhstan has vast arable land and high-quality agricultural products, while China has a large market and advanced agricultural technology. Agricultural cooperation is a crucial component of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan.

In 2023, the trade volume of agricultural products between the two countries hit a new high, reaching$1.36 billion, a year-on-year increase of 47 percent. China imported agricultural products worth$1.06 billion from Kazakhstan, up 85 percent year-on-year.

Before the Chinese New Year holiday in February, China lifted the import restrictions on meat and other agricultural products from southeastern Kazakhstan. With the vast market potential for meat products in China, Kazakh producers are now focused on exporting fresh meat, fish products, poultry, and other agricultural products.

Aidarbek Saparov, Kazakh minister of agriculture, expressed willingness to expand agricultural exports to China, promote agricultural investment and trade exchanges, and learn from China's advanced technologies and experiences in areas such as water-saving irrigation. He also mentioned plans to establish more meat processing plants in Kazakhstan.

BRI highlights

As China and Kazakhstan are continuing to promote cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, a number of high-quality projects have taken root and borne fruit in Kazakhstan. As an important participant in the BRI, Kazakhstan has promoted the construction of transportation, logistics and communication infrastructure through its cooperation with China.

For example, the Khorgos Gateway, at the border of southeast Kazakhstan and China, and the China-Kazakhstan(Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base, a vital Sino-Kazakh cooperation project under the BRI, have become important hubs for China-Europe freight trains.

The Shymkent Oil Refinery, located in the third-largest city in Kazakhstan, is jointly controlled by China National Petroleum Corp and Kaz-MunayGas. It is one of the three major refineries in Kazakhstan. From 2014 to 2018, Shymkent's refinery completed the first and second phases of its modernization project, increasing its crude oil processing capacity to 6 million tons per year. It now has the capability to produce Euro IV and Euro V standard refined oil products, making it a modern refinery with advanced international standards.

Yerlan Kussikbayev, vice-president of Shymkent Oil Refinery, said that the plant plays a significant role in boosting the development of Shymkent city and the southern region of Kazakhstan. "We will continue to work with our Chinese colleagues to enhance the refinery's capacity, advance modernization upgrades and inject new momentum into China-Kazakhstan energy cooperation,"he said.

Ambassador Nuryshev said the BRI solidifies the friendly exchanges between China and Kazakhstan, adding that the initiative is truly global, playing a role in addressing economic crises and establishing commercial connections across various fields.

Enhancing connectivity

China and Kazakhstan are also developing transit systems and international multimodal transportation.

In 2023, the railway freight volume between China and Kazakhstan reached 25.44 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 18.1 percent. Meanwhile, container traffic was 1.48 million twenty-foot equivalent units, up 11.4 percent year-on-year.

With the operation of China-Europe freight trains and the advancement of connectivity, more Chinese products are entering the daily lives of Kazakhstani people. From smartphones and smart home appliances to automobiles, Chinese brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Chery and Changan Auto are becoming popular in Kazakhstan.

This year, the logistics corridor between the two countries was upgraded. On Feb 28, with the final container loaded onto the China-Europe freight train at the Xi'an International Port Station in Shaanxi province, a joint project between China and Kazakhstan — the Kazakhstan-Xi'an Terminal — was put into operation. Loaded with daily necessities, machinery, and new energy vehicles, the train headed westward, crossing the Caspian Sea and arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, after 11 days.

The Kazakhstan-Xi'an Terminal mainly consists of cargo warehouses and container yards, and can be quickly connected to the container handling area of Xi'an International Port Station, meeting the needs for "fast delivery and quick pickup" of containers.

Relying on the China-Europe freight train, this project will help with the rapid distribution of goods imported and exported between China and Kazakhstan in Xi'an, forming a commercial and logistics hub for Kazakhstan in China.

Cultural exchanges

Over the years, China and Kazakhstan have rapidly developed cooperation in education, technology, culture, tourism and archaeology.With mutual visa exemptions coming into effect in 2023, the opening of the first Luban Workshop, a platform for hands-on learning and technical skill development, and the launch of the China-Kazakhstan Tourism Year, the mutual understanding between the peoples has deepened.

The Luban Workshop is an internationally renowned vocational education brand initiated by China, with 27 workshops established in countries involved in BRI since 2016.

In December 2023, the first Luban Workshop opened at East Kazakhstan Technical University, offering courses in transportation equipment and technology. It has four training areas: vehicle maintenance, fuel vehicle systems, new energy vehicles and intelligent connected vehicles. The workshop provides vocational skills training for more than 700 students annually.

China has also established Confucius Institutes in Kazakhstan, training more than 3,000 people in the Chinese language every year. Currently, more than 14,000 Kazakh students are studying in China, making it one of the top three destinations for Kazakh students studying abroad.

wangjinhui@chinadaily.com.cn