There was much symbolism in the choice of Kazakhstan for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first state visit since the onset of COVID. This is where President Xi first announced his groundbreaking Belt and Road Initiative on Sept. 7, 2013. It is also the 30th anniversary of China-Kazakh ties in 1992 after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Xi was welcomed on the tarmac on the afternoon of Sept. 14 by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Xi’s delegation included Ding Xuexiang, one of his senior aides, foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and He Lifeng, the head of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Xi and Tokayev held a meeting during which the two sides discussed “cooperation in the transport, logistics and agro-industrial sectors, and also considered the issue of using transboundary water resources.” (The Irtysh River which runs through Kazakhstan into Russia has its source in China’s Xinjiang province.) The two are also expected to sign agreements “strengthening the Kazakh-Chinese comprehensive strategic partnership.” The Kazakh ambassador to China Shakhrat Nuryshev told CGTN that they would also sign an agreement outlining the development of their ties over the next three decades and an agreement on economic and trade cooperation. There are also two main railroad hubs on the Kazakh-China border leading west to Europe and to Southwest Asia. There is now a discussion for creating another hub and a new rail linkup.
