Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration, Arman Shakkaliyev, visited China on April 3, where he met with officials from Jiangsu Province and representatives of Jiangsu Soho Holding Group in Nanjing, the province’s capital. During the meeting, the Chinese side presented design concepts for a planned multifunctional center to be built in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, in 2026.
According to the trade ministry, the future center will strengthen Kazakh-Chinese trade and business relations. It will serve as a venue for showcasing Chinese and Kazakh goods, hosting business negotiations, registering trade transactions, and providing consulting services. The complex will also include a trade pavilion, a cultural center, and an office for Jiangsu Soho Holding Group.
The sides also discussed plans to hold a Jiangsu Province goods exhibition in Astana from June 11 to 13, to coincide with the upcoming Central Asia-China summit. As part of his visit, Shakkaliyev toured the Central Asia-Jiangsu Trade Center and the National Pavilion of Kazakhstan in Nanjing, which opened in September 2024. The trade center is a multifunctional platform promoting exports from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, and is designed to increase Central Asian access to the Chinese market.
Shakkaliyev also held talks with Eurasia Construction Capital Co. Ltd, which is planning to launch an investment project in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau region to establish a private special economic zone (SEZ) or industrial park. The initial investment is estimated at $100 million. Seven major Chinese companies, specializing in petrochemical products, renewable energy, and construction materials, have expressed interest in participating in the SEZ. The minister affirmed the government’s full support for the initiative, highlighting its potential to develop high value-added production in Kazakhstan.
