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Artificial intelligence

Kazakhstan Prepares for China Investment Forum While Pursuing U.S. AI Ties

Kazakhstan will host a major investment forum with China in Almaty on September 25, with artificial intelligence expected to feature prominently among potential new agreements. The meeting comes as Astana deepens technology cooperation with Beijing while remaining part of the U.S.-backed Pax Silica initiative. Tokayev confirmed his participation in the forum in an interview with China’s Xinhua News Agency. “This forum is intended to serve as a platform for launching new concrete economic and investment cooperation projects,” the president said. In the same interview, Tokayev outlined potential cooperation with China in AI and digital technologies, ranging from industry, mining, and energy to transport, healthcare, satellite technology, and data centers. Some projects in these areas are already being discussed with Chinese businesses. During Tokayev’s July visit to Shanghai, Kazakhstan and Chinese companies signed more than 70 commercial agreements with a stated value exceeding $15 billion. They included projects involving Huawei, robotics development, AI in the automotive industry, and the Data Center Valley in Ekibastuz, where a complex with capacity of up to 1 GW is planned. Two International Initiatives in Three Weeks On June 25, Kazakhstan became the first country in Central Asia to join Pax Silica, a U.S.-backed initiative aimed at developing trusted supply chains for the AI economy. It covers areas including semiconductors, critical minerals, computing infrastructure, energy, and advanced manufacturing. Kazakhstan also signed a joint statement with the United States on an AI Opportunity Partnership. On July 16, Kazakhstan joined 28 other countries in Shanghai in signing an agreement to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). The organization, headquartered in Shanghai, says its goals include expanding international cooperation and developing approaches to global AI governance. Its other founding participants include Brazil, China, Indonesia, Russia, and the four other Central Asian states: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Beijing is promoting wider access to AI technologies and open models, workforce development, and greater participation by developing countries in setting international rules. China is also seeking to reduce its technology sector’s dependence on U.S. components. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, has remained part of Pax Silica. Washington Raises the Question of Choosing Sides On August 14, Reuters reported that the U.S. State Department had drafted a letter for countries partnering with Washington on AI. Countries participating in both Pax Silica and the China-backed initiative could be asked to choose between the two frameworks. A U.S. official told Reuters that Washington wanted a clearer separation between the American and Chinese technology ecosystems. The report specifically identified Kazakhstan as a participant in both initiatives and said its dual participation had raised concerns in Washington. At the time, the document remained a draft. There is no public evidence that Kazakhstan has received such a demand or that Washington has formally required Astana to choose between the two initiatives. Several weeks later, Tokayev argued in his Xinhua interview against dividing technology along geopolitical lines. “AI should not become the privilege of a narrow circle of the most technologically advanced states, much less turn into a new...

Uranium

Kazakh Uranium for Asia: Japan Returns for Fuel, South Korea Expands Cooperation

Kazakhstan accounts for around 40% of global uranium production. China already receives not only raw material from the country but also finished fuel assemblies; Japan is signing new contracts after bringing some of its reactors back online; and South Korea is expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan’s nuclear industry. Kazakhstan itself, which for decades exported almost all of its uranium, is preparing to build its own nuclear power plants. These developments are gradually changing the country’s place in Asia’s nuclear energy sector. In December 2025, Kazatomprom, the world’s largest producer of natural uranium, agreed on new supplies with Kansai Electric Power, one of Japan’s major nuclear power operators. The agreement for the supply of uranium oxide concentrate, U₃O₈, was signed during events connected with a visit by a Kazakh delegation to Japan. This is not finished reactor fuel. U₃O₈, known in the industry as yellowcake, must undergo conversion, enrichment, and fuel fabrication after mining. For Kansai, the agreement provides another source of raw material for its nuclear fleet, while for Kazakhstan it continues cooperation with the Japanese company that began almost two decades ago. Japanese demand is rising again after a prolonged decline. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011 led to the gradual shutdown of all the country’s commercial reactors. Restarts began in 2015 after new safety requirements were introduced. In February 2025, the Japanese government approved an energy policy that envisages increasing nuclear power’s share of electricity generation to around 20% by 2040. To achieve this, Tokyo will need not only to restart existing reactors but also to secure their fuel supply. Kansai has a particularly important role in this process. The company operates seven reactors at three sites: Mihama, Takahama, and Ohi. In 2025, it also resumed work to assess the possibility of building a new reactor at the Mihama site. No final decision on construction has yet been made. Kansai’s links with Kazakhstan began long before the current revival of Japan’s nuclear energy sector. In 2006, the company and Sumitomo joined the APPAK uranium mining project in southern Kazakhstan. Kazatomprom currently owns 65% of the company, Sumitomo 25%, and Kansai 10%. APPAK develops the western section of the Mynkuduk deposit in the Turkistan region. For the Japanese company, this provides a presence directly at the source of the raw material. For Kazakhstan, the partnership became one of the first major examples of Asian energy companies participating in its uranium mining industry. China Already Receives Finished Fuel Kazakhstan has gone further with China than simply supplying uranium concentrate. Ulba-FA operates in Ust-Kamenogorsk as a joint venture between the Ulba Metallurgical Plant and China’s CGNPC-URC. The Kazakh side owns 51% and the Chinese side 49%. The plant produces fuel assemblies for Chinese nuclear power plants. Industrial production began in 2021. In December 2022, the first shipment was sent to China, containing just over 30 tonnes of low-enriched uranium in finished fuel assemblies. By the end of 2024, the plant had reached its design capacity of 200 tonnes a year....

Artificial intelligence

Tokayev Offers Astana to Host New Global AI Body’s First Meeting

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev put Astana forward at the opening of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 17, saying that Kazakhstan is ready to host the first meeting of a new global AI organization. He also proposed placing the organization’s Central Asian office in Kazakhstan. Together, the offers set out Tokayev’s wider aim: Kazakhstan wants a role in writing AI rules as well as building the technology at home. Twenty-nine countries signed the agreement establishing the World AI Cooperation Organization on July 16. The founding states included Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while Turkmenistan did not sign. China first proposed the Shanghai-based intergovernmental body at last year’s conference. Tokayev called the creation of the organization a historic decision and said it could underpin a universal framework for AI governance. “No country should remain merely a consumer of AI,” he said. “Every state must have the opportunity to develop its own human capital, digital infrastructure, and institutional capacity. Here too, the issue is fairness and integrity.” Tokayev also endorsed the conference’s guiding principle, “AI for good, AI for all,” arguing that technological progress should benefit people broadly rather than deepen inequalities within and between countries. His offer to host the new organization’s first meeting in Astana and to establish its Central Asian office in Kazakhstan were aimed at giving the country a role in shaping that agenda. [caption id="attachment_52389" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Image: Akorda[/caption] Astana Bids for a Role in the New AI Body Tokayev’s proposals went beyond hosting a ceremonial gathering. He called for a permanent expert platform on AI regulation, standards and ethics. He also proposed an international network of schools, centers of excellence and academic partnerships. The Kazakh president urged members to develop common standards for testing and certifying AI systems. He said safeguards should address malicious uses, including cyberthreats, deepfakes and digital fraud. AI should remain under human control, he said. Tokayev placed those proposals within his wider diplomatic agenda. He argued that AI could help spot crises earlier and improve humanitarian work and peacekeeping. He said governments spend too much effort dealing with conflicts after they begin and too little preventing them. The new organization adds another layer to Kazakhstan’s technology policy. Citing a person familiar with the U.S. position, Reuters reported that Kazakhstan is the only country listed in both the 29-member body and Washington’s AI Opportunity Statement. Kazakhstan had already joined the U.S.-backed Pax Silica framework on June 25, which covers chips, critical minerals, energy and secure AI supply chains. That overlap carries Kazakhstan’s long-standing multi-vector diplomacy into AI policy. Astana is deepening ties with China while expanding ties to U.S.-linked technology and supply chains. Tokayev’s speech showed that Kazakhstan also wants a voice in the institutions shaping global AI rules. A Digital Bridge With China In Shanghai, Tokayev also proposed a “Kazakhstan-China Digital Bridge.” He said the project should promote digital trade and provide a working model for connecting digital economies through the Belt and Road Initiative. He asked China to support...

Tajik-Afghan Border

Chinese Workers Return to Tajik Highway Under Guard After Afghan Border Attacks

Chinese engineers and workers have returned to a highway site in eastern Tajikistan under armed protection. Their return restarts work on a road toward China that stopped after two attacks from Afghanistan killed five Chinese nationals in November. Tajikistan's Transport Ministry said Chinese specialists came back in April to the Kalai-Khumb to Vanj section of the Dushanbe-Kulma highway in Gorno-Badakhshan. They are advising local crews, pouring concrete, fitting tunnel lighting and completing other works. Ozodi said its correspondent saw Tajik special forces guarding Chinese workers in Darvaz in late May, but security officers did not allow photos or video. The return keeps the China-funded Dushanbe-Kulma corridor moving. The road links Dushanbe with the Kulma Pass on the Chinese frontier through the Pamir. The Kalai-Khumb-Vanj works sit close to the Pyanj River, where attacks from the Afghan side are impacting the cost of Chinese projects. Construction on the Kalai-Khumb-Vanj section began on Sept. 20, 2022, with the contract running until September 20, 2026. The contractor is China Road and Bridge Corporation. China is funding the work with a $230 million grant. Once complete, the road section should shrink from 109 kilometers to 92.3 kilometers. It includes two tunnels, five anti-avalanche corridors and 14 bridges. The route crosses Darvaz, one of Tajikistan's hardest mountain road sections. The Transport Ministry has described it as a route that had gone for years without major repairs. The work is meant to allow year-round movement and lower fuel and travel costs. By January, crews had finished 12 of the 14 bridges. Two bridges, avalanche corridors and tunnel systems remained under construction. Work stopped after the November 30 attack in Shodak, a village in Darvaz district. Tajikistan's Border Troops said an armed group came from Ruzvayak in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province and attacked CRBC employees. Two Chinese citizens were killed and two were wounded. Dushanbe called the attackers members of an armed terrorist group, but did not publicly name the organization. Four days earlier, another attack hit Shamsiddin Shohin district in Khatlon, also from Afghan territory. The Chinese embassy said three Chinese citizens were killed and one Chinese citizen was wounded. TCA previously reported that Tajikistan described the strike as using an unmanned aerial vehicle carrying explosives. China reacted with a rare public warning. On December 1, the Chinese embassy urged Chinese companies and personnel to evacuate the Tajik-Afghan border area. Its latest June 9 public warning still told Chinese citizens not to work or travel in Tajikistan's southern border areas, citing a complex security situation and extreme weather. Afghanistan's Taliban government promised cooperation after the killings. Reuters quoted Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as saying, "The Islamic Emirate is fully prepared to strengthen border security, conduct joint investigations, and engage in any form of coordination… joint measures against malicious elements are a pressing necessity." Taliban officials later said suspects had been detained in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province. The Tajik authorities say the border is stable and under control, while continuing to announce smuggling cases and armed incidents....

China

Kazakhstan Turns to China and Hong Kong for Deals, Yuan Debt, and Market Access

Kazakhstan has opened a new phase in its economic ties with China, with a large package of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese agreements arriving alongside Kazakhstan’s first sovereign borrowing in China’s domestic bond market. The two steps show Astana is moving beyond trade growth into finance, listings, yuan debt, and China-linked capital for infrastructure and industry. On June 2, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin met a delegation of about 70 business representatives from Hong Kong and mainland China. Kazakhstan’s government said the group included 40 Hong Kong companies and 30 mainland Chinese companies working in finance, logistics, technology, energy, industry, and professional services. The visit produced four intergovernmental memoranda and 42 commercial agreements. Together, they covered aviation, finance, trade, innovation, technology, the digital economy, and green development. Hong Kong’s government gave a separate count, saying its business delegation had so far concluded 43 memoranda and agreements in Kazakhstan. The same statement said Hong Kong and Kazakhstan would move ahead with exploratory talks on a comprehensive double-taxation agreement and an investment promotion and protection agreement. A Hong Kong airline plans to launch direct flights to Almaty in the first quarter of 2027, which would add a practical link to the new finance and trade agenda. Officials discussed bond issuance, yuan funding, listings by Kazakh companies in Hong Kong, joint investment funds, and large investment projects. Baiterek National Managing Holding signed cooperation documents with Bank of China (Hong Kong), Invest Hong Kong, and Standard Chartered Hong Kong. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, which operates the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, also signed two memoranda in Kazakhstan, including one with the Astana International Exchange. The two exchanges plan to work on cross-border listings of shares and debt securities. The agreements came days after Kazakhstan completed its debut sovereign panda bond, a renminbi-denominated instrument sold in mainland China by a foreign issuer. The Finance Ministry raised 3.4 billion yuan (about $500 million) through three-year sovereign bonds. The bonds carried a 1.9% yield, and demand exceeded supply by two times. The issue was listed on the Beijing Financial Assets Exchange and the Astana International Exchange. The sovereign issue followed earlier yuan deals by state-linked Kazakh issuers. Development Bank of Kazakhstan placed 2 billion yuan in three-year yuan-denominated Eurobonds in September 2025, the first such issue in Central Asia. KazMunayGas raised 1.25 billion yuan in October through a five-year offshore yuan-denominated bond. Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, closed the order book for 3 billion yuan in debut panda bonds in April 2026. Together with the sovereign bond, those issues total 9.65 billion yuan. The figures cover more than central-government borrowing. The National Bank of Kazakhstan defines external debt as liabilities of residents to non-residents. It includes debt obligations of both the public and private sectors. A country breakdown drawn from National Bank data shows Kazakhstan’s external debt to Chinese creditors rose to $12.87 billion at the start of 2026, up from $9.29 billion at the end of 2024. The new panda...

Investment Projects

Tashkent Signs $3.5 Billion in China Deals for Infrastructure and Exports

The third Uzbekistan-China Interregional Forum, held in the Chinese city of Xi’an, concluded with Tashkent signing more than $3.5 billion in investment and export agreements with Chinese partners, according to the Tashkent city administration. The agreements include $3.35 billion in investment projects and $156 million in export contracts spanning infrastructure, transport, construction, environmental technology, and industrial production. Officials said the deals are aimed at modernizing the Uzbek capital’s urban infrastructure and improving transport systems, public spaces, environmental services, and industrial capacity. The forum comes as China’s economic role in Uzbekistan continues to expand. According to Uzbekistan’s Dunyo news agency, speakers at the Xi’an forum said bilateral trade reached $18 billion last year, while Chinese investment in Uzbekistan totaled $17 billion. China has become one of Uzbekistan’s most important economic partners, with cooperation expanding from trade and construction into transport, energy, industry, and urban development. Dunyo’s report on the forum also presented the Xi’an meeting as part of a broader push to build direct ties between Uzbek regions and Chinese provinces, rather than limiting cooperation to central government agreements. Among the largest planned projects are a $1 billion initiative to develop Bus Rapid Transit, known as BRT, overpasses, and road infrastructure under the EPC+F financing model, and another $1 billion package focused on transport and social infrastructure projects. Additional agreements include $500 million for modern residential complexes in renovation zones and $400 million for drainage, irrigation, and stormwater systems. The city administration said financing is expected to come from Chinese partners without the direct use of Uzbekistan’s state budget or sovereign guarantees, although repayment would still depend on future municipal revenue streams. The projects are planned under the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing model, known as EPC+F. The financing structure is significant as many of the largest projects are municipal rather than national in scope. It allows Tashkent to pursue major road, drainage, and transport upgrades while presenting the deals as externally financed. Nevertheless, projects of this type can still create long-term obligations if future city revenues are used to cover repayments. The forum also focused on the development of Tashkent’s Yangi Avlod special industrial zone. Agreements worth $130 million were signed with Chinese companies, including Jwise, Zhongke Honghu, CAS Cloud, and UMGG. The projects are expected to support manufacturing infrastructure, digital management systems, and high-tech industrial production in the capital. Yangi Avlod has been promoted as one of Tashkent’s main industrial expansion sites. According to the zone’s official website, it is located in the Yangihayot district and is planned as a 764.5-hectare industrial area with logistics, warehouse, administrative, and commercial infrastructure. Other agreements include investments in decorative stone manufacturing, ceramic production, and smart waste-sorting equipment. Export contracts signed during the forum included three agreements worth a combined $150 million for jewelry exports, as well as deals covering cotton yarn and silver concentrate supplies. Separately, during the official visit to China, Tashkent Mayor Shavkat Umurzakov met with executives from China Railway Construction Corporation to discuss urban renovation projects, transport infrastructure, and...