Shua is open to cooperation with border regions

On March 28, 2023, at the meeting of delegations of the two countries, held in Almaty on the eve of the II friendly dialogue of cross-border cooperation between Kazakhstan and China, the parties discussed in detail a wide range of areas of mutual cooperation. The main leitmotif of the meeting was the announcement of significant changes in the trade and economic policy of the CUA on the transition from the previous isolation to openness and cooperation.

The meeting, organized at a high level with the support of the mayor's Office of Almaty, was held in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual respect. The head of the Chinese delegation, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPC, secretary of the party committee of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the CPC Ma Xinjui thanked the Kazakh side for its hospitality. He stressed that the president of Kazakhstan warmly welcomed the delegation during the meeting and showed special attention, noting that he perceives this as a manifestation of personal friendship between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and goodwill towards the multinational people of China.

«This visit gave us hope and we are looking forward to meeting with the governors of the border regions. Chinese President Xi Jinping presented a large-scale plan for the modernization of China, aimed not only at the territory of China, but also at openness to the outside world. Chinese modernization will benefit not only the PRC, but also neighboring countries, including Kazakhstan», — Ma Xinjui said.

«Within the framework of the instructions given by the heads of state, our work should be as effective as possible. Today, the leaders of the regions, one of the leading universities in the country, the railway industry came to the meeting to discuss topical issues and determine what we can do to make the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region the western gate of China Open to Kazakhstan. For my part, Mr. Ma Xinjui, let me thank the top leadership of China for the initiative to create an accredited multidisciplinary testing laboratory in the territory of the East Kazakhstan region and provide equipment for its work», — Serik Zhumangarin said.

The main promising areas of cooperation are agriculture, energy, transport, tourism. The Chinese side proposed to consider the possibility of building complex terminals in Almaty and Urumqi, as well as increasing the number of flights. Akims of the regions bordering China-Almaty, Almaty, Zhetysu, Abay, East Kazakhstan regions – made proposals for mutual cooperation. In particular, mayor of Almaty Yerbolat Dossayev invited entrepreneurs of Shua to participate in joint projects.

«Almaty occupies a special place in the development of Kazakhstan, providing 17% of the country's economy and 26% of state budget revenues. More than half of all enterprises in the Republic with the participation of Chinese capital are located in Almaty. Thanks to our friendly relations, the trade turnover between our metropolis and China has traditionally been maintained at a high level. In 2022, trade turnover increased by more than 1.5 times and amounted to 6 6.8 billion. I am confident that the forum will give an impetus to the intensification of cooperation between the regions of the country and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region», — Yerbolat Dossayev said.

Akim of East Kazakhstan region Danial Akhmetov drew attention to the prospects for the development of a joint innovative enterprise in the region, a plant for the production of heat dissipation assemblies for nuclear power plants with a capacity of 200 tons of uranium per year. The plant exports all its products to the Chinese market. He noted that this successful project will significantly strengthen relations between the two countries. When planned capacity is reached, total revenue will increase from.120 million to. 200 million.

The possibilities of cooperation in the field of tantalum and beryllium production were also noted.