Kazakhstan's grain and feed exports to China: new suppliers may receive accreditation.

The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov discussed with the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Li Qiang, the development of trade and economic relations in line with the objectives set by the leaders of both nations. They addressed measures to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, transportation and logistics, agriculture, energy, tourism, as well as to expand cultural and humanitarian ties, reports inbusiness.kz citing the press service of the RK government.

The parties positively assessed the dynamics of cooperation between Kazakhstan and China across a wide range of issues. From January to September 2024, the volume of bilateral trade reached $33 billion.

"President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pays special attention to the development of cooperation with China, our largest trading partner. The state visit of the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, to Kazakhstan has given an additional impetus to Kazakh-Chinese cooperation in this new era of the 'golden 30 years.' In accordance with the high-level objectives set, we intend to increase mutual trade in the near future. The government of Kazakhstan is ready to develop comprehensive and mutually beneficial cooperation with China across the entire spectrum of interaction," noted Olzhas Bektenov.

The head of the government emphasized that Kazakhstan is prepared to expand the scale and optimize the structure of trade, including through value-added products. This involves 180 product positions worth $1.6 billion. There is potential for increasing supplies from the metallurgical, petrochemical, food, machine engineering, and construction sectors.

An important component of Kazakh-Chinese relations is cooperation in agriculture. As of the end of nine months in 2024, mutual trade in the agricultural sector increased by 5.8%, indicating a demand for Kazakh organic and environmentally friendly agricultural products among Chinese citizens.

In this regard, the possibility of not only expanding the export of Kazakh grain, crop, and livestock products was discussed, but also the accreditation for the supply of new Kazakh enterprises producing wheat and barley feed flour, wheat bran, wheat, oilseeds, and more to the Chinese market. The importance of increasing the acceptance of cargo transported by all types of railway cars was also noted.

The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and the Premier of the State Council of China discussed issues of strengthening cooperation in the transport and logistics sector. Currently, over 80% of ground transportation from China to Europe is conducted through Kazakhstan. In this context, Kazakhstan is interested in deepening cooperation within the framework of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Olzhas Bektenov pointed out that this globally significant project, in conjunction with the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route passing through Kazakhstan, is capable of unlocking the potential of the "North-South" and "East-West" corridors. Over the first nine months of this year, the volume of transportation along the Middle Corridor surpassed last year's figures by 23%, totaling 3.4 million tons. By 2030, it is planned to increase the volume of cargo transportation to 10 million tons per year.

In the area of container transportation, the opening of the Kazakh logistics center in Xi'an has resulted in a 24-fold increase in transit shipments along the "China – Europe – China" route, reaching 24,000 TEUs. In October of this year, in cooperation with the "Port Lianyungang" company, construction of a container hub in the port of Aktau has commenced. This project will increase the port's capacity for container transshipment to 300,000 TEUs per year. Additionally, issues regarding the acceleration of customs processes were discussed in light of a 60% increase in the volume of cargo transported by road. Work is currently underway to open new border crossing points in Almaty and East Kazakhstan regions.

For his part, the Premier of the State Council of China, Li Qiang, noted that China intends to continue following the course set by the leaders of both countries to deepen the Kazakh-Chinese strategic partnership.

"China and Kazakhstan are long-standing friendly neighbors, connected by a common border extending over 1,700 kilometers. Over the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, we have built mutually beneficial cooperation based on good neighborliness, friendship, respect, and equality. Under the strategic guidance of the heads of state, our relations have gained new momentum in recent years, achieving a high level of stable and comprehensive strategic partnership," emphasized Li Qiang.

The parties confirmed their intentions to ensure progressive development of investment and trade-economic cooperation between the two states.

As a result of the negotiations, several documents were signed.

It was previously reported that in Shanghai, companies from Kazakhstan and China signed agreements worth $2.5 billion.