The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov on March 26 met with the Chairman of the People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, Erkin Tuniyaz, who arrived in Astana to participate in the second forum on “New approaches to the development of trade relations between Kazakhstan and China”.
The two officials discussed cooperation in trade, economic and investment spheres.
China is a major foreign trade partner of Kazakhstan. At the end of last year, bilateral trade turnover totalled $31.5 billion. China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region borders four Kazakh regions. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region accounts for over 64% or $20.3 billion of the total trade turnover with China.
The parties noted the strengthening of investment cooperation. The total inflow of investments from China since 2005 has reached almost $25 billion. For 9 months of last year the volume of direct Chinese investments increased by 37%. Today the list of 45 Kazakh-Chinese projects provides for a total investment of over $14.5 billion.
“An important direction of our interaction is the expansion of investment cooperation, supported by new joint industrial projects, including in the fields of petrochemicals and metallurgy,” Olzhas Bektenov emphasised, noting the significant potential for diversification of trade relations.
Photo: primeminister.kz
