Kazakhstan leader meets China's Xinjiang party chief, hailing "eternal friendship" with Beijing

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Kazakhstan leader meets China's Xinjiang party chief, hailing "eternal friendship" with Beijing​

7/03/2023 - 17:50

Almaty (Kazakhstan) (AFP) – Kazakhstan's president on Monday hailed "eternal friendship" with Beijing as he met with the ruling party chief in China's Xinjiang region.


Beijing has long been accused of rights violations against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the northwestern region.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a Mandarin speaker, welcomed the "deepening all-round cooperation with China" as he met with the Xinjiang Communist Party secretary, Kazakhstan's presidency said Monday.

China is among key investors in energy-rich Kazakhstan, the largest country in ex-Soviet Central Asia.

Ma Xingrui said that Kazakhstan was a "priority area" of mutual cooperation.

"In general, China's cooperation with Kazakhstan is carried out through Xinjiang," Ma added.

Xinjiang, a region in northwestern China, shares a border with Kazakhstan.

Around 1.5 million ethnic Kazakhs live in Xinjiang while Kazakhstan is home to a large Uyghur diaspora.

Beijing stands accused of detaining over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang -- including some Kazakhs -- under security measures Washington and some lawmakers in other Western countries have labelled a "genocide".

China denies the allegations, saying its actions are aimed at combating terrorism.

China's leader Xi Jinping in September last year travelled to Kazakhstan on his first trip abroad since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

This month Xi invited the leaders of the five ex-Soviet Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan to attend "the first China-Central Asia" summit, in May.

The authoritarian republics of Central Asia were part of the Soviet Union and have been dominated by Moscow since the mid-19th century.

But Russia's influence is being challenged, increasingly since the invasion of Ukraine, with Beijing courting Moscow's traditional allies in the region.

Kazakhstan leader meets China's Xinjiang party chief

Kazakhstan's president on Monday hailed "eternal friendship" with Beijing as he met with the ruling party chief in China's Xinjiang region.

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Argubly China's most important neighbor

 

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Kazakhstan Seeks to Enhance Strategic Partnership with China, President Tokayev Says​

BY DANA OMIRGAZY in INTERNATIONAL on 28 MARCH 2023

ASTANA – Kazakhstan seeks to deepen cooperation with China based on strategic partnership and eternal friendship, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during a March 27 meeting with a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Ma Xingrui, reported the Akorda press service.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (R) and Ma Xingrui (L). Photo credit: Akorda press service.

The sides discussed the advancement of interregional cooperation in the industry, transport, logistics, agriculture, and tourism sectors.

Tokayev noted that the two countries maintain dynamic and trusting political dialogue at all levels, and called China one of the key trading partners of Kazakhstan, recalling the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2022.

According to Xingrui, the main purpose of his visit is to implement the strategic agreements reached between the Presidents of both countries.

“As a region of China, we are responsible for the country’s ties to the west. We consider Kazakhstan the most priority area of cooperation. In general, China’s cooperation with Kazakhstan is carried out through Xinjiang,” Xingrui said.

Alikhan Smailov (R) and Ma Xingrui (L). Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service.

During the meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, the parties addressed a wide range of trade and economic cooperation issues.

According to Smailov, China is one of the country’s largest trading partners, with a share of 18 percent. In 2022, trade between the countries grew by 34 percent, exceeding a record $24 billion in 30 years, with more than 40 percent of the total volume of mutual trade falling on Xinjiang.

He encouraged maintaining a positive trend by increasing the export of Kazakh products to China for 135 types of goods by $1 billion.

The sides also considered investment projects a crucial area of cooperation, particularly the implementation of 52 joint projects worth more than $21 billion. China is among the top five countries investing in the Kazakh economy, with a total inflow of investments reaching nearly $23 billion over the past 15 years.

Smailov and Xingrui also discussed measures to eliminate bottlenecks at the border. According to Smailov, two of the five check points have already launched green corridors to accelerate the movement of agricultural products. He also raised the issue of accelerating the procedures for issuing visas to Kazakh cargo carriers to enter China to increase the pace of trade in general.

Xingrui said that Kazakhstan and China have close economic relations and announced the readiness to intensify mutually beneficial cooperation in agriculture, industry, energy, logistics, education, innovation, and other sectors.

Kazakhstan Seeks to Enhance Strategic Partnership with China, President Tokayev Says - The Astana Times

ASTANA – Kazakhstan seeks to deepen cooperation with China based on strategic partnership and eternal friendship, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during a March 27 meeting with a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Communist Party...

astanatimes.com

 

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Kazakhstan, China to Bolster Economic Ties, Sign Commercial Agreements Worth $565 Million​

BY STAFF REPORT in BUSINESS on 29 MARCH 2023

ASTANA – Kazakh and Chinese business leaders agreed to bolster bilateral economic relations, signing 16 documents, including five commercial agreements worth $565.4 million in construction, energy, mining, agriculture, food industry, engineering, tourism, investment, and other sectors at a March 28 cross-border cooperation dialogue in Almaty, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.

Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service.

The forum was held as part of the official visit of the member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Ma Xingrui to Kazakhstan.

The meeting participants, including Chinese and Kazakh officials and entrepreneurs, addressed ways to improve the efficiency of checkpoints, logistics centers, and transport infrastructure along the border.

Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin in Almaty on March 28. Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service.

According to Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin, the volume of transit cargo transportation via the Kazakh railway increased by 1.1 million tons to 9.4 million tons in 2022. Transit transportation by road from China doubled to 980.6 tons. He reiterated that 3,300 joint ventures in mining and metallurgical complex, manufacturing, and other sectors operate in Kazakhstan.

Zhumangarin said Kazakhstan is ready to export 135 industrial and agricultural products worth over $1 billion to China. In particular, Kazakh enterprises can supply chilled meat products, fish, poultry meat and by-products, pork, eggs, horsemeat, and other high-margin goods.

“For this, it is imperative to remove restrictions on exporting Kazakh meat products to China related to animal diseases. The other day, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) recommended confirming the status of five southeastern zones of Kazakhstan free from Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) with vaccination,” Zhumangarin said.

Zhumangarin focused on the country’s readiness to increase the volume of annual wheat supplies to China to over 1 million tons, proposing to create the Kazakh-Chinese subcommittee on agriculture to resolve issues of mutual trade.

In 2022, trade between the countries reached $24 billion. Imports increased by 33.5 percent hitting $11 billion. Kazakhstan exported products worth $13 billion to China, a more than threefold increase over the previous year.

Kazakhstan exports oil, copper and copper cathodes, copper ores and concentrates, natural gas, ferroalloys, uranium, and sunflower oil while importing telephones, computers, electric generating sets, ferrous metal products, tires, parts and accessories for automobiles and tractors, road and construction equipment, and automobiles.

Kazakhstan, China to Bolster Economic Ties, Sign Commercial Agreements Worth $565 Million - The Astana Times

ASTANA – Kazakh and Chinese business leaders agreed to bolster bilateral economic relations, signing 16 documents, including five commercial agreements worth $565.4 million in construction, energy, mining, agriculture, food industry, engineering, tourism, investment, and other sectors at a March...

astanatimes.com