The Second Central Asia – China Industrial and Investment Cooperation Forum was held in Astana on June 16. The main goal of the forum was to develop and strengthen economic ties between the Central Asian countries and China, attract mutual investments, establish joint production facilities, and promote cooperative projects in the strategic sectors of the region’s economy.
The event brought together representatives of government agencies and leading business circles from Central Asian countries and China.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Alibek Kuantyrov highlighted that Kazakhstan is committed to developing long-term economic relations with the countries of Central Asia and China. “Kazakhstan traditionally attaches great importance to the development of mutually beneficial cooperation with the Central Asian countries and the People’s Republic of China. Today, our partnership portfolio with China includes 224 projects worth around $66.5 billion, creating approximately 50,000 jobs. The trade turnover between our countries has already reached $43.8 billion, and we have set an ambitious goal to increase it to $100 billion in the near future. I am confident that platforms like today’s forum will allow us to successfully achieve this goal, strengthen interstate relations, and launch new joint projects,” he said.
At the forum, 58 commercial agreements were signed between Kazakhstani and Chinese companies totaling $24 billion.
An investment agreement was signed with Chinese company Fufeng Group for a deep corn processing project in the Zhambyl region. The investment amount is $800 million. This is one of the largest projects in Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial sector, allowing for the processing of up to 1 million tons of corn per year and the production of high value-added products, including lysine and amino acids.
Xinjiang Lihua Group Co., Ltd. is implementing a project to create a full cotton cluster in the Turkestan region worth $420 million. The initiative covers the entire cycle — from cotton cultivation to deep processing and the production of finished textile products. The project is focused on import substitution, export, and the development of the light industry.
The Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan signed an investment contract with Chinese company Qingdao Wanlin Food Corporation, which plans to build a dehydrated onion and vegetable deep processing plant. The investment volume will be $89 million. Production will be aimed at exports to China, the USA, and Europe.
Dalian Hesheng Holdings will invest $650 million in the construction of a deep grain processing complex in the Akmola region. The production will focus on the output of gluten, starches, and other high value-added products, and long-term contracts with domestic farmers are expected.
The Akimat of the Almaty region and TBEA Company Limited signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of a large-scale energy project, including the construction of a 1,000 MW solar power plant and a transformer plant. In the future, the investor also plans to build a 1,320 MW coal-fired thermal power plant to reliably supply heat to the city of Alatau. The total investment volume is $3.7 billion.
