Kazakhstan and China show an example of stable relations, systematically increasing mutually beneficial cooperation, which is especially noticeable in economic projects.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Kazakhstan in September. The leader of China has not left the country for three years already, and his first trip to Kazakhstan shows the importance of relations between the two countries, Adil Kaukenov, the chief expert of Kazakh Institute of Strategic Studies under the President of Kazakhstan told Kazakh media.
“A new stage of Kazakh-Chinese relations was opened by the state visit of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to China in 2019, which brought the political dialogue to a qualitatively new level and contributed to the consistent implementation of previously reached agreements”, Kaukenov believes.
He noted that in addition to bilateral cooperation, Kazakhstan and China have a large package of multilateral cooperation projects in such structures as the UN, SCO, CICA, etc. A new indicator of the high level of political trust between the two states is Beijing’s proposal this year to nominate Kazakhstan for full membership in the work of one of the world’s largest associations BRICS+.
“This is a very serious claim, because BRICS+ is called a worthy competitor to such global clubs as the G7 and G20, taking into account the new growing economies and the new alignment of forces on the world stage. And the fact that Kazakhstan is being nominated with the support of the second world economy, likeChina, gives Kazakhstani participation a certain credibility, given the weight of its protégé in BRICS+.
China also supported the initiatives of Kazakhstan in many other areas. For example, Kazakhstan’s accession to the WTO, Kazakhstan’s initiative to create a forum for the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and much more.
Such support by China is due to consistent position of Kazakhstan in joint agreements in the international arena.
Such a high level of political relations has a very serious positive effect both in the field of security in relations with China and in economic projects”, the expert emphasized.
Kaukenov also explained the ties between the two countries in the economic sphere. According to data of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, in 6 months of 2022, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and China amounted to $11.26 billion. This is 36.2% more than in 2021, despite the fact that the sanctions war and geopolitical competition are raging in the region.
The expert noted that Kazakhstan exports to China mainly mineral products, metals and chemical products. In turn, China supplies textiles, machinery, equipment, metal, ceramics and glass products, as well as consumer goods.
“Like many developing countries, Kazakhstan is interested in investments. In this direction, the Government of Kazakhstan is consistently working to attract foreign investment, and China plays an important role here. According to data of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, at the end of 2021, China ranks 5th in terms of foreign investment attracted to Kazakhstan after the Netherlands, the United States, Switzerland and Russia. Chinese investments amounted to $21.7 billion.
Great importance is attached to the export of Kazakh agricultural products to China. To date, about 600 Kazakh enterprises producing wheat, beef, pork, soybeans, honey, fish, rapeseed, alfalfa, corn, flour and flour products have received permission to supply their products to the Chinese market.
Being a golden bridge in the heart of Eurasia and located at an important crossroads connecting Asia and Europe, North and South, Kazakhstan was the first to support the Belt and Road Initiative, which has fully proved its effectiveness and usefulness for its participants”, Kaukenov said.
He stressed that thanks to the joint terminal in the Chinese port of Lianyungang, the number of container traffic from China to Kazakhstan and further to Russia, Europe, the countries of Central Asia and the Caspian region is increasing.
“A further increase in the volume of cargo transportation from China through the territory of our country stimulates international trade in the region and opens up the transit and logistics opportunities of Kazakhstan.
Thus, Kazakh-Chinese relations are going through a stage of systematic growth, which is largely due to the mutual policy of pragmatic and good-neighborly growth.
The current geopolitical turbulence in Eurasia – the confrontation between Russia and the West failed to worsen the economic and political ties between Kazakhstan and China, thereby confirming the thesis about the established solid foundation for interaction between the two countries”, Kaukenov concluded.
inozPRESS.kg,
August 26, 2022