ASTANA, Kazakhstan, June 17. Last year, China accounted for about 40% of the entire foreign trade turnover of the Central Asian region, reaching a record $95 billion, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at the Central Asia-China Summit in Astana, Trend reports.
Tokayev emphasized that the synergy of existing opportunities lays a strong foundation for further dynamic and mutually beneficial cooperation with China.
“The combined GDP of Central Asian states is steadily approaching the half-trillion-dollar mark. Over the past five years, intra-regional trade has significantly increased, surpassing $10 billion,” the president noted.
Highlighting Kazakhstan’s role, Tokayev said that 46% of the trade turnover with China falls to Kazakhstan, with bilateral trade between the two countries reaching $44 billion. He also pointed to the important contribution of Chinese investments in Kazakhstan’s economic growth, with a total volume exceeding $26 billion.
“Currently, around 5,000 enterprises with Chinese capital operate successfully in Kazakhstan,” he added, underscoring the depth of economic ties between Kazakhstan and China.