Kazakhstan and China plan to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion in the coming years, nearly doubling the expected volume for 2026, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin said.
According to Kazakhstan’s government press service, Zhumangarin held talks with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on the sidelines of the 9th China-Eurasia Expo in Urumqi.
The talks focused on expanding strategic partnership, joint investment projects, transport and logistics infrastructure, and broader trade cooperation.
Kazakhstan said bilateral trade reached a record $48.7 billion in 2025. In the first five months of 2026, trade volume totaled $22 billion, up 27% compared with the same period a year earlier.
Officials expect trade to exceed $50 billion by the end of this year, with more than half of total turnover linked to China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which remains the key hub of economic interaction between the two countries.
“Our main task is to achieve $100 billion in mutual trade in the near future. To do this, we need to accelerate the approval of the Kazakhstan-China Trade and Economic Cooperation Program and Roadmap for 2027-2030,” Zhumangarin said.
China has invested around $30 billion in Kazakhstan since independence, making it one of the country’s largest foreign investors, he added.
Kazakhstan has invited Chinese businesses to expand participation in high value-added projects, including deep agricultural processing, full-cycle metallurgical production, agrochemicals, and drone manufacturing.
Zhumangarin also praised the technological level of the China-Eurasia Expo and called on Chinese manufacturers and investors to localize production in Kazakhstan.
Agricultural trade was another priority in the talks. Bilateral trade in agricultural products has already reached $2 billion, while China has approved imports of 34 categories of Kazakhstan’s agricultural goods. Another nine categories, including chilled meat, are still under review.
Zhumangarin said around 85% of all overland freight traffic between China and Europe currently passes through Kazakhstan. Following the completion of the new Bakhty-Ayagoz rail crossing, the combined capacity of border checkpoints between the two countries is expected to reach 100 million tons annually.
China also confirmed its readiness to jointly implement the construction of the new railway crossing, which officials say will improve the resilience and security of international transport routes.
Ding said Beijing was interested in expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan in the digital economy, artificial intelligence, energy, and navigation technologies, and encouraged Kazakhstani companies to use the China-Eurasia Expo as a platform to expand their presence in the Chinese market.
As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, China now accounts for nearly a quarter of Kazakhstan’s total foreign trade turnover. However, the growth of Chinese imports continues to outpace the increase in Kazakhstani exports.
