Kazakhstan will be provided with an area of 250 to 600 square meters. meters on a gratuitous basis in the Pilot Zone of regional trade and economic cooperation "China-SCO", located in Qingdao, Shandong province. This agreement was one of the results of the working trip of the Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Arman Shakkaliev to China, during which he held a meeting with the governor of the province Zhou Naixian. The main topic of the talks was the strengthening of trade and investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and Shandong.
Shandong is one of the leading economically developed provinces of China with a population of over 100 million people. The region's economy is focused on the automotive, electronic, petrochemical and metallurgical industries, as well as agriculture specializing in the cultivation of wheat, corn and vegetables.
Governor Zhou Naixiang expressed readiness to expand cooperation with Kazakhstan. "Kazakhstan is our friendly neighbor. In the first quarter of this year, the volume of exports from Kazakhstan to Shandong reached 8 billion yuan, and 45 provincial companies have already invested in the economy of Kazakhstan. I am sure your visit will become a new impetus for strengthening our relations," the governor stressed.
Arman Shakkaliyev, in turn, thanked for the warm welcome and noted that China is Kazakhstan's largest trading partner. "The volume of trade turnover between our countries has already reached 41 billion US dollars, and the leaders of the two countries set a goal to increase this figure to 80 billion dollars. Shandong is especially interesting for us as a dynamically developing region," the minister said.
During the visit, the Kazakh delegation also visited several large companies of the province, such as Shandong Hi-Speed Group, Shandong Energy Group, G-WEIKE, Lingong Heavy Machinery and Tsingtao. The delegation got acquainted with their production facilities and discussed possible areas of cooperation, including the mining and logistics industries.
Special attention was paid to the export of agricultural products from Kazakhstan. In particular, the restoration of the brewery in Semey to promote products to the markets of Central Asia and the EAEU was discussed with representatives of Tsingtao BeerGroup.
Shandong also plays an important role in China's transport system due to its developed infrastructure, including the ports of Qingdao and Yantai, which are actively involved in international trade.
During the meeting with the mayor of Jinan, Yu Haiten, the route of the high-speed railway and prospects for cooperation in the fields of industrial cooperation, green energy, cultural and educational exchange were discussed.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mti/press/news/details/880320