Kazakhstan and China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have agreed to prepare a roadmap for the development of trade and economic cooperation with a focus on diversifying bilateral trade and increasing non-resource exports from Kazakhstan.
The agreement was reached during the recent negotiations in Urumqi between Kazakh Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev and the Chairman of the People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Erkin Tuniyaz.
Xinjiang, which shares a long border with four regions of Kazakhstan, accounts for almost half of all trade between Kazakhstan and China, which amounted to $43.8 billion in 2024. In that year, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Xinjiang increased by 20.5% and reached a record high $22 billion.
That growth in trade is largely due to the fact that Kazakhstan’s two key special economic zones (SEZs) are located on the border with Xinjiang. These are the Khorgos International Center for Border Cooperation (ICBC), facilitating cross-border trade and joint ventures; and the Khorgos-Eastern Gate SEZ, a logistics hub featuring industrial complexes and a dry port that links China with Central Asia and the Middle East.
“For Kazakhstan, Xinjiang is a special region: we are neighbors, we have a long common border, and many human ties. Last year, trade turnover with Xinjiang grew to $22 billion, a historic figure. But we can do even more. We need not only to increase trade volumes, but also to expand the range of trade by adding new types of goods, new projects. Kazakhstan is ready for this and we want our trade turnover to not just grow in numbers, but to benefit people on both sides of the border,” Shakkaliyev stated.
A separate part of the dialogue was devoted to agricultural products. In 2024, Kazakhstan’s agricultural exports to China increased by 10.5% and reached $1.44 billion. According to the Kazakh minister, given China’s growing demand for environmentally friendly products, Kazakhstan is ready to increase supplies of grain, oilseeds, and processed agricultural products.
