Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov met with Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the CPC XUAR of the People’s Republic of China, Chairman of the People’s Government of the XUAR Erkin Tuniyaz arrived in Astana to participate in the second exporters' forum on the topic "New approaches to the development of trade relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People's Republic of China", El.kz reports with reference to the press service of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
During the talks, issues of cooperation in trade, economic and investment spheres were discussed as part of the implementation of the agreements reached at the level of the heads of the two states.
China is a major foreign trade partner of Kazakhstan. At the end of last year, bilateral trade amounted to $31.5 billion. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China borders on four Kazakh regions. The XUAR 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, and in the first 9 months of last year, the volume of Chinese direct investment increased by 37%. To date, the list of 45 Kazakh-Chinese projects provides for a total investment of over $14.5 billion.
"An important area of our cooperation is the expansion of investment cooperation, supported by new joint industrial projects, including in the fields of petrochemistry and metallurgy," Olzhas Bektenov emphasized and noted the significant potential for diversification of trade relations.
During the talks, Olzhas Bektenov and Erkin Tuniyaz noted transit, transport, cultural and interregional areas, as well as agriculture and tourism among the points of interaction.