Ding Xuexiang stated that bound together by mountains and rivers and common interests, China and Kazakhstan are good neighbors, good friends, and good partners. President Xi Jinping and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have held multiple meetings, outlining the blueprint for the development of China-Kazakhstan relations and cooperation across various fields. China is willing to work with Kazakhstan to elevate the two countries’ permanent comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level, bringing more stability and certainty to world peace and development.
Ding Xuexiang emphasized that China and Kazakhstan, as companions on the path to modernization, should identify more areas for converging interests, actively explore new cooperation models, and jointly build a more substantive and dynamic China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future. Ding proposed four points. First, further strengthen the alignment of development strategies, fully leverage various China-Kazakhstan cooperation mechanisms, and provide strong support and guarantee for the safe and smooth progress of cooperation in all fields. Second, further improve connectivity, continuously deepen cooperation in infrastructure and engineering construction, steadily enhance cross-border transport of goods and throughput capacity of ports, and establish a multi-dimensional, diversified, and efficient connectivity framework. Third, further deepen trade and investment cooperation, vigorously foster new growth areas of trade, and step up collaboration in industrial and supply chains. Fourth, forge a stronger bond between the peoples, keep broadening and deepening cultural exchanges and cooperation, and increase mutual understanding and amity between the peoples of the two countries through frequent interactions.
Ding Xuexiang pointed out that the business community is a vital force in boosting pragmatic cooperation between China and Kazakhstan. He expressed hope that enterprises on both sides will continue to make good use of the China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee as an important mechanism, boldly break new ground, deepen exchanges and cooperation, and more effectively drive industrial synergy, benefit sharing, and common development in both countries. These aim to contribute more insights and strength to the upgrading of China-Kazakhstan cooperation.
Kazakh President Tokayev said in his speech that China is Kazakhstan’s permanent comprehensive strategic partner. The bilateral relations continue to strengthen and consolidate, with a very bright future ahead. Kazakhstan supports the Belt and Road cooperation and is willing to deepen pragmatic cooperation with China in transportation and logistics, energy, manufacturing, the digital economy, and other fields to better achieve common development.
Before the opening ceremony, Ding Xuexiang and Tokayev took a group photo with relevant enterprise leaders of the China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee.
Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT); Nurlan Zhakupov, Kazakh Chairman of the China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna Joint Stock Company; and Xi Guohua, Chinese Chairman of the China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee and Chairman of CITIC Group, attended the meeting and delivered speeches.
Ren Hongbin stated that in recent years, China and Kazakhstan have forged greater synergy between development strategies, with numerous highlights in cooperation in trade, investment, energy, and infrastructure. The CCPIT is willing to work with Kazakh partners such as the Samruk-Kazyna to thoroughly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state. It will strive to make the committee a main channel for exchanges and cooperation between the business communities of both countries, and push for new outcomes in China-Kazakhstan economic and trade cooperation on a larger scale, across more sectors, and in greater depth, to jointly usher in a new “Golden 30 Years” in bilateral relations.
The China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee was established in 2013 under the joint witness of the two heads of state. It is the first bilateral business cooperation mechanism established between China and a Central Asian country. The 8th meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee was jointly hosted by the CCPIT, Samruk-Kazyna, and the CITIC Group.
More than 500 business representatives from China and Kazakhstan in energy, transportation, logistics, communications, and other fields attended the meeting. During the event, participants held in-depth discussions on topics such as green sustainable development and industrial and supply chain cooperation, reaching a total of 72 cooperation agreements.