The 3rd Forum of Interregional Cooperation of Kazakhstan and China was held on June 26 in Urumqi, the main city in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
On the eve of the Forum, the Secretary of the Communist Party Committee of the XUAR, Ma Xingrui, met Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin, during which he proposed a new direction in investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and China, with the assistance of Xinjiang.
“The third forum of interregional cooperation between Kazakhstan and China in Urumqi is a significant result of our close friendly relations,” said Ma Xingrui. “At this new stage of our relationship, we are ready to promote cooperation between Kazakhstan and Hong Kong through Xinjiang. We suggest considering cooperation with large enterprises from Hong Kong and Macao that are ready to invest in Kazakhstan. These are large companies that now at a stage of transforming their activities, are showing great interest in cooperation with Kazakhstan.”
Following his statement that in 2023, China became Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner, the Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister said, “XUAR is Kazakhstan’s key partner in China, accounting for almost half of the Kazakh-Chinese trade turnover. The practical expansion of interregional cooperation has significant growth potential. The most promising areas are transport and logistics, agriculture, investment cooperation, eliminating trade barriers, and tourism.”
Regarding the above, the parties discussed furthering cooperation in tourism, the development of railways and the construction of new border crossings. With reference to increasing supplies of agricultural products, Zhumangarin announced Kazakhstan’s readiness to raise beef exports to China by up to 500 thousand tons.
In 2023, the volume of trade between Kazakhstan and China reached $31.5 billion (+30.1%), including exports by Kazakhstan amounting to $14.7 billion (+12.6%). In January-April 2024, bilateral trade turnover amounted to $9 billion, 10.3% more than the same period of the previous year.
