According to Tsinghua University’s National Institute of Strategic Studies Senior Researcher Taihe Think Tank Qian Feng, BRICS New Development Bank should be put to good use and support green infrastructure development for BRICS countries.
Facing an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical environment to its east and south, China has every reason to stabilize relations with its neighbours to the north and west, among which Kazakhstan is of unique strategic importance for not only its strengths in logistics, energy and resources, but also its strong regional influence as a major player in Central Asia.
Kazakhstan also attaches strategic significance to its ties with China as it looks to strengthen bilateral cooperation to drive economic growth.
The two countries have turned the Belt and Road Initiative, which President Xi Jinping proposed during his visit to Kazakhstan in 2013, from vision to reality.
Kazakhstan has been able to leverage the BRI to tap into its development potential against the overall Eurasian scenario. In the process, Kazakhstan has transformed itself from an economy that lagged behind both Europe and East Asia to a key logistics hub linked to almost all the major ports and industrial bases of the two global growth engines.
In 2023, the trade volume between China and Kazakhstan reached USD 41 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32 percent, which was a remarkable feat as global trade as a whole declined 1.1 percent that year.
China-Kazakhstan relations are at an all-time high, which some may posit is due to the two countries’ holding similar positions on principles of international relations and dispute resolutions. They jointly created a China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism, and maintain close coordination and collaboration in the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.
According to President Xi, these efforts have helped to stabilize the whole of Central Asia. While the Red Sea and other sea routes are jeopardized by regional tensions, the peace and stability of Central Asia, with Kazakhstan as its backbone country, have contributed to stabilizing global industry and supply chains.
By actively supporting each other’s constructive proposals for international cooperation, and taking resolute measures to safeguard their shared strategic, security, and development interests, the two neighbours have seen their mutual political trust reach a new high over recent years.
In that sense, both Beijing and Astana have enough reasons to take advantage of President Xi’s ongoing visits to Kazakhstan, with his fifth visit to the country as the head of state last month, to renew their friendship and deepen all-round bilateral cooperation.
During the state visit, Chinese President Xi says that he supports Kazakhstan participating in the BRICS cooperation mechanism, and it is willing to further promote greater synergy between Belt and Road cooperation and the development strategy of Kazakhstan at a faster pace, and further open its super-sized market to Kazakhstan.
The two sides have set a new goal of doubling bilateral trade. To that end they can further deepen cooperation in traditional sectors, and enhance the efficiency of customs clearance at border ports.
In early July, the opening ceremony of the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route was held in Kazakhstan, marking the debut of Chinese trucks utilizing a road transport route to reach the Caspian Sea.
Before that, China-Europe freight trains originating from China and crossing the Caspian Sea had already maintained seamless operations for two years. Now, a comprehensive, multi-dimensional network integrating road, rail, air and pipeline transportation has been established.
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project marked a milestone project of the BRI as well as a measure to boost connectivity and trade among the SCO members. The three countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on the project in June.
Commenting on the project Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev says that the railway will become the shortest land route linking China and Central Asian countries.
“It will also open up big markets in South Asia and the Middle East, benefiting cooperation among regional countries and China,” says President Mirziyoyev.
The railway will begin in Kashgar, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and enter the territory of Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan. In the future, it can extend to West Asia and South Asia.
Meanwhile the two countries are looking to significantly unleash the potential for cooperation in high-tech areas, as indicated by the joint statement they issued and series of cooperation agreements that were inked during Xi’s visit on new energy, the digital economy, artificial intelligence, cross-border e-commerce, aviation and aerospace.
During the recent SCO Summit in Astana in July, President Xi urged member states to ensure security in the face of Cold War mentalities.
Covering more than 60 percent of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the world’s population, the SCO would provide a strategic opportunity for regional land and sea transport corridors to play a role.
“We must respond to the changing international landscape with a win-win approach to build a world of lasting peace and universal security,” says President Xi.
The SCO members adopted the Astana Declaration, and they vowed to continue counter-terrorism cooperation and crack down on drug trafficking as well as transnational organized crime. Belarus also officially joined the SCO during the Summit, becoming the 10th member state.
In addition, the members called on UN member states to conduct general and complete disarmament under effective international control, consolidate the global nuclear nonproliferation regime and oppose an arms race in outer space.
According to a joint statement, current security risks and challenges are global in nature and can only be resolved through the building of a multipolar world, the improvement of global economic governance and coordinated efforts to tackle both conventional and non-conventional security threats.
“Real security can only be realized when every country is secure. Member states should adhere to mutual benefits and inclusiveness, keep industrial and supply chains stable and smooth, stimulate the internal impetus of regional economies and work towards common development goals,” says President Xi.
