ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 22. Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu has discussed the development of transit and transport cooperation with the Ambassador of China to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao, Trend reports.
Nurtleu noted the joint efforts to increase trade and economic ties between the countries, and also emphasized the important role of increasing Kazakhstan’s non-resource exports to China.
At the same time, during the meeting the parties discussed issues of Kazakh-Chinese cooperation, and also exchanged views on the prospects for its further development.
The interlocutors reviewed the schedule of bilateral visits and events planned for this year at the highest levels. Special attention was paid to the interaction of countries within the framework of multilateral structures.
In turn, Xiao noted the importance of the issues raised and expressed the Chinese side’s full readiness for active interaction in these areas.
To note, China is Kazakhstan's largest trading partner. The volume of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and China amounted to $31.4 billion in 2023. The volume of trade turnover increased by 30 percent compared to the same period in 2022 ($24.2 billion).
At the same time, in the structure of trade turnover, exports to China for the above period amounted to $14.7 billion, which is 14.7 percent more than from January through December 2022 ($13 billion).
In addition, imports from China from January through December 2023 increased by 50.5 percent and amounted to $16.7 billion. For 2022, imports amounted to $11.1 billion.