During his visit to Shanghai from July 15–17, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, participated in the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), and witnessed the signing of more than 70 Kazakh-Chinese commercial documents worth over $15 billion.
Over the past twenty years, China has come to Kazakhstan primarily for oil, metals, uranium, and transit. In Shanghai, individual areas of cooperation coalesced into the most comprehensive architecture of a joint industrial system to date—from raw material extraction to computing infrastructure. Astana presented itself as the infrastructure platform for a new economy. This is a different level of positioning, and it determines the significance of the visit more than the sum of the contracts, reads an article published by REAL DIGITAL.
The scheme proposed by Kazakhstan is coherent. Critical minerals fuel battery production. Batteries are used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Energy supplies data centers. Data centers perform computations for AI. Logistics corridors bring products to foreign markets.
Following the investment roundtable in Shanghai, Kazakh and Chinese companies signed more than 70 agreements and memorandums worth a total of over $15 billion in the fields of AI, digital infrastructure, transport, industry, energy, and critical minerals.
According to data cited by Tokayev at his meeting with Xi Jinping, bilateral trade last year reached a record $49 billion, cumulative Chinese investment reached $30 billion, and more than 8,500 Chinese-owned companies operate in Kazakhstan. Tokayev called this new stage a new “golden thirty years” of relations; the parties signed a program for trade and economic cooperation through 2030.
Tokayev’s most substantive meeting was with CATL, the global leader in the traction battery market. The company confirmed its readiness to build a battery plant in Kazakhstan, which could become the first production facility of this scale in Central Asia. Tokayev proposed establishing a full cycle production—from raw material processing to finished products. A “battery plant” could mean assembling modules from imported cells, or it could involve manufacturing the cells themselves, and chemical processing of minerals. The economic value of these production levels differs dramatically. With the assembly model, Kazakhstan gains jobs and a tax base, while the added value and technology remain with the supplier. A full cycle—with raw material processing, production, and engineering expertise—would create a new industry in Kazakhstan.
For now, the discussion is about readiness and consideration. Whether the CATL plant will become Kazakhstan’s entry point into the global battery industry or just another assembly line using imported components remains to be seen.
Kazakhstan is already building computing capacity. The Data Center Valley project near Ekibastuz is being developed primarily with the American company Firebird, with support from NVIDIA (the first 125 MW phase is scheduled for 2027), while Chinese investments and operators are joining this pipeline through separate agreements. This configuration demonstrates that Kazakhstan is working with multiple suppliers simultaneously in its critical infrastructure, reducing dependence.
Data centers, metallurgy, battery production, and electric vehicle manufacturing require sustainable energy generation and grids. Negotiations with China Communications Construction Company have resulted in the joint development of a 600 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric power station in the Kargaly Valley.
Transportation remains a key issue. According to Tokayev, 13 international corridors pass through Kazakhstan, approximately 85% of cargo rail transit between China and Europe passes through Kazakhstan, and over $35 billion has been invested in the country’s transport infrastructure over 15 years. A new element is the Smart Cargo platform, a single digital window for customs, logistics, and freight movement data. The country is shifting from selling geography to selling the quality of route management.
Geography cannot be changed. The quality of digital management can, and it is gradually becoming the main competitive advantage of transport corridors. Competition is intensifying: the Middle Corridor competes with the northern route through Russia and the southern route through Turkey, and end-to-end digital logistics could provide an advantage.
On July 16, 29 countries, including Kazakhstan, signed an agreement establishing the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), headquartered in Shanghai. On July 17, at the opening of WAIC, Tokayev proposed holding the first WAICO meeting in Astana and declaring 2027 the Year of Joint Kazakhstan-China AI Initiatives, as well as opening an Asia-Pacific Digital Solutions Center under UNESCAP in Almaty.
For Kazakhstan, this is one of the most realistic strategies for participating in the global AI agenda. The country cannot compete with the US and China in creating basic models or manufacturing chips. Becoming a platform where rules are agreed upon, solutions are tested, and personnel are trained is a feasible goal. The rationale here is simple: without claiming what the country doesn’t have, Kazakhstan has staked out a role it can realistically occupy—and is the first in the region to do so.
Some elements of technological localization have already been outlined in the signed memoranda. Kazakhstan and the Chinese automaker BYD intend to develop a Kazakh-language voice interface for in-car multimedia systems, as well as collaborate on power electronics and semiconductors. This potentially extends the partnership beyond automobile assembly, but the depth of localization has not yet been determined.
This model also makes sense for China. Amid slowing domestic demand, Chinese companies are increasingly entering foreign markets not only with finished goods but also with production facilities, digital platforms, and technologies. Kazakhstan is becoming one of the first locations where this model can be deployed comprehensively: close to the market, with resources, and transit access to Europe.
Almost every advantage offered in Shanghai is dual in nature. Cheap energy could become the foundation of a computing economy or remain a cheap resource for foreign data centers. Critical minerals could launch deep processing or increase raw material exports. Localization of the auto industry could grow into a major industry or remain a mere assembly line. Chinese digital platforms could accelerate modernization while simultaneously increasing dependence on a single supplier. Kazakhstan’s task is to convert resources and geography into favorable contract terms.
The number of signed agreements is an interim result. The true outcome of the Shanghai visit will be reflected in the changing structure of the economy. Kazakhstan has declared a transition from a resource supplier to a participant in production chains, and the consolidation of this role is being tested by one indicator: what share of new value will be created domestically. If batteries, computing services, engineering solutions, and highly processed products are added to raw material exports by the end of the decade, the Shanghai visit could be considered one of the starting points of a new industrialization.
Photo: akorda.kz
