Kazakhstan's national stand opened at the China EXPO in Shanghai

The Sixth China International Import Expo is held from 5 to 10 November in Shanghai, China. Kazakhstan delegation in China is headed by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, he took part in the opening of the exhibition and familiarised himself with the work of the national pavilions.

This year Kazakhstan is presenting its export, investment, logistics, tourism and innovation potential at two stands - country and commercial. Kazakhstan's national stand at the Shanghai Expo was presented by Arman Shakkaliev, Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Kazakh Invest, Kazakh Tourism, KazakhExport, KTZ, Air Astana, Kazpost, NIT and others are located at the national stand. The agribusiness sector is represented by the Meat Union, the National Association of Oilseeds Processors of Kazakhstan, the Grain Union and Prodkorporatsiya.

The organisers of the participation of Kazakh enterprises in the international import exhibition were the operator of state export support measures QazTrade with the assistance of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Kazakhstan.

As Arman Shakkaliev noted, our country plays a special role in ensuring food security in Central Asia. Kazakhstan holds leading positions in the production and export of grain and oilseeds in the region.

«Today, 21 protocols on the export of Kazakh agricultural and food products have been signed between our country and China, which has allowed to significantly increase the supply of agro-industrial complex goods to China. At the same time, Kazakhstan can expand the volume of exports of environmentally friendly agricultural products to the Chinese market. The export potential for vegetable oils and meal alone is $300 million», - said Arman Shakkaliyev during the presentation of the national pavilion.

There are great opportunities for Kazakh producers of livestock products, particularly beef, mutton and poultry.

Trade logistics is successfully developing between Kazakhstan and China, and a route network has been created, which includes railways, motorways and aviation. The international transit road corridor «Western Europe - Western China» allows sending cargo to Europe in the shortest possible time - in 10-12 days.

According to Arman Shakkaliyev, Kazakhstan is making serious efforts to become a transport and logistics hub of international importance. Since 2014, a logistics terminal has been operating in the port of Lianyungangan, created jointly with Chinese partners. In May 2023, construction of a Kazakh terminal in the dry port of Xi'an began.

«In the next three years it is planned to lay 1,300 km of new railway tracks, opening of the third railway checkpoint on the border with China and construction of new dry ports «Bakhty» and «Kalzhat». That is, Kazakhstan creates the most favourable conditions for the transportation of goods in the western direction, including the countries of Europe and the Middle East», - said the Minister of Trade and Integration, representing the logistics potential of Kazakhstan at the opening of the import exhibition in Shanghai.

Speaking about investment opportunities, Arman Shakkaliev said that the PRC is one of the leaders of foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan.

«The gross inflow of Chinese investments in Kazakhstan from 2005 to 2023 totalled about $23.4 billion. Under the «One Belt, One Road» initiative, 52 joint projects totalling $21.1 billion are being implemented. Since 2015, 27 projects have been launched», - specified the Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Today, three priority areas have been identified for Chinese investors: logistics, agro-industrial complex development and deep processing of goods.

Kazakhstan has been continuously participating in the China Expo since 2018, during which time 160 companies have been able to present their products on the CIIE platform. Over five years, contracts worth $255 billion have been signed.