China in the coming years will overtake Russia and enter the position of the main trading partner of Kazakhstan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin said in an interview with Bloomberg.
In 2022, China-Kazakhstan trade grew by a third, approaching $24 billion, just $2 billion less than trade with Russia. At the same time, the growth of trade with Russia amounted to just over 6%, according to the data of the National Statistical Committee of Kazakhstan.
By 2030, the volume of Kazakhstan's trade with China will exceed the total trade turnover of Kazakhstan with all 27 EU countries.
Russia has been Kazakhstan's largest trading partner since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but against the backdrop of Western sanctions, China has been able to increase its influence in Central Asia. At a recent meeting with Xi Jinping in Xi'an, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev outlined a goal to boost trade with China to $40 billion by 2030.
Kazakhstan has already begun to supply grain to China and is now negotiating the export of meat. According to the Kazakh minister, in addition to the two existing railway terminals linking the countries, one more is under construction and plans are underway to build a fourth.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
June 7, 2023