Vice Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin spoke at the opening of the second meeting of the «Central Asia-China» Business Council on June 17.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan noted that the Council has become an important platform for building sustainable economic ties between the countries of Central Asia and China. According to him, combining the potential of the region's states with the economic and technological capabilities of China opens the way to an unprecedented level of cooperation.

- The focus is on the development of trade and economic ties. In 2024, the trade turnover between Central Asia and China reached $95 billion, of which almost half is accounted for by Kazakhstan, - Serik Zhumangarin said. - Trade between Kazakhstan and China has grown to a record $44 billion, while we intend to double the volume of mutual trade in the coming years.

Among the key areas of cooperation is the active development of e–commerce. Kazakhstan already has positive experience in creating national pavilions on Alibaba's electronic trading platforms and JD.com. Kazakhstan also confirmed its readiness to cooperate in the implementation of the initiative of the President of the People's Republic of China to create a pilot zone of the Silk Road e-commerce.

Central Asia is a key region for the development of rain—fed agriculture in the world. The scale of agricultural trade between Central Asia and China is increasing from year to year. The Vice Premier noted the wide opportunities for Chinese investors interested in setting up joint ventures for the production and processing of agricultural products, introducing innovative, water-saving technologies into the agricultural sector to improve production efficiency. 

The transit and logistics potential of Central Asia, which has always been a crossroads of the most important trade routes connecting East, West, North and South, opens up enormous opportunities for China.

Today, over 80% of land cargo transportation from China to Europe passes through the territory of Kazakhstan. By the end of 2024, the volume of traffic along the Middle Corridor increased by 60% and reached 4,5 million tons. By 2030, it is planned to double the figure to 10 million tons, which will open up new horizons for regional trade and transit.

«Central Asia is a crossroads of key trade routes, and we invite Chinese partners to jointly implement new infrastructure projects», - the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.

Serik Zhumangarin proposed to make holding meetings of the Business Council an annual tradition and called on the business communities of the two sides to actively use the opportunities that open up.

For reference:

The Central Asia–China Business Council was established in May 2023 as part of the first Central Asia–China Summit, held in Xi'an, China. The initiative to create the council was enshrined in the Xi'an Declaration, signed by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Its founding meeting brought together more than 400 business representatives and became the basis for deepening trade and investment cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and China.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/economy/press/news/details/1018888?lang=kk