Kazakhstan, the first place to jointly build the "the Belt and Road"

In the beautiful and modern main building of Nazarbayev University, a group of photos on the wall recorded the moment that had an important impact on the development and prosperity of the world.
Over the past 10 years, with the personal care and joint guidance of the leaders of both countries, China and Kazakhstan have successfully implemented dozens of important cooperation projects, benefiting the people of both countries and promoting common development. The high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has achieved fruitful results in Kazakhstan.
Deepen policy communication and promote common prosperity
Today, Loretta O'Donnell, Deputy Dean of Nazarbayev University, still remembers the scene at that time. At that time, she had just left her hometown of Australia to work in Kazakhstan and had little knowledge of Kazakhstan and Central Asia.   "The joint construction of the the Belt and Road has closely linked all parts of the world, including Asia and Europe. Kazakhstan has gained more development opportunities in strengthening economic and trade exchanges and people to people and cultural exchanges with other countries."
China and Kazakhstan are friendly neighbors. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 31 years ago, the relationship between the two countries has gone through an extraordinary development process, constantly reaching new levels and achieving new results. It has achieved continuous progress from good neighborly friendship to strategic partnership, and then to permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. It has established a unique positioning of bilateral relations and created a new type of national relationship that respects each other, is good neighborly friendship, works together in times of adversity, and benefits and win-win results. In September 2022, the two countries announced their vision and goal of working towards building a community with a shared future between China and Kazakhstan that is friendly, highly trusted, and shares weal and woe for generations.

  President Tokayev of President of Kazakhstan paid a state visit to China in September 2019, attended the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022, and attended the China Central Asia Summit in May 2023. The strategic leadership of the heads of state and close high-level exchanges are the guarantee and advantages for the sustained and high-level development of China–Kazakhstan relations, laying a solid foundation for the development of bilateral relations and the smooth progress of the "the Belt and Road" cooperation.

The cooperation concept of jointly building the "the Belt and Road" covers a wide range of areas and opens up broad prospects for China Kazakhstan cooperation in various fields. In November 2014, Kazakhstan proposed the "bright road" New Economic Policy. The "the Belt and Road" initiative and the "Bright Road" New Economic Policy are highly compatible and complementary. China and Kazakhstan have continuously strengthened strategic docking, deepened policy communication, and expanded mutually beneficial development space for bilateral cooperation in various fields such as infrastructure, investment and trade, industry and transportation, and cultural exchanges, promoting common prosperity.
Tokayev said that the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" is a great initiative. Kazakhstan is committed to long-term friendly cooperation with China, will unswervingly develop Kazakhstan China permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, closely link the "Bright Road" New Economic Policy with the "the Belt and Road" initiative, and promote the practical cooperation between the two countries to achieve more results, so as to better benefit the two countries and their people.
Kazakh Ambassador to China Nureshev said that Kazakhstan and China have maintained close interaction on the international stage, and practical cooperation under the framework of the "the Belt and Road" initiative between the two countries has continued to advance, becoming a model of good neighborly friendship, mutual benefit and win-win results.
Strengthen practical cooperation to support economic development
On the vast plain of Kostanay, Kazakhstan, a white fan stands tall, with huge blades rotating in the wind, producing clean green power. Here is the Ibrahim 50 MW wind power project invested and constructed by Chinese enterprise Huantai Energy. Since entering the Kazakh market 7 years ago, Huantai Energy has become one of the largest clean energy suppliers in the region today. Huantai Energy has built six new energy projects, including photovoltaic power generation and wind power generation, with a total scale of 380 megawatts. It has provided 1.41 billion kilowatt hours of green electricity to the local area, reduced carbon emissions by a total of 1.41 million tons, and created 3000 job opportunities during the peak construction period.
Kazakhstan's electricity production is mainly based on traditional coal. In recent years, with the global energy transformation, Kazakhstan's demand for clean energy has become more urgent. New energy projects, such as Zanatas Wind Farm, Turgusong Hydropower Station and Akmola Region Wind Power Project, invested and constructed by Chinese enterprises, are helping Kazakhstan's energy industry transform to low-carbon. According to data from China Power Kazakhstan Energy Investment Co., Ltd., as of the end of 2022, the total installed capacity of renewable energy projects constructed by Chinese enterprises in Kazakhstan has exceeded 1000 megawatts.
The achievements of cooperation in the field of new energy are a vivid reflection of the achievements of China Kazakhstan joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". China and Kazakhstan have established a dialogue mechanism on production capacity and investment, established a special fund for production capacity cooperation between China and Kazakhstan, and witnessed the vigorous development of production capacity cooperation. The completed large-scale strategic projects, such as the JAC Motors automobile production line and the modernization of Shymkent refinery, have provided strong support for the economic and social development of Kazakhstan and truly benefited the people of the two countries.
China and Kazakhstan are connected by mountains and rivers, and their economic structures are highly complementary. On the streets of large and medium-sized cities such as Almaty in Kazakhstan, advertisements for Chinese brand appliances, mobile phones, and cars are everywhere, and products are widely welcomed by the Kazakh people. According to the statistics of the General Administration of Customs of China, in 2022, the total amount of goods trade between China and Kazakhstan reached 31.17 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 23.6%. Kazakhstan has become the second country to open a national pavilion on the Alibaba e-commerce platform, with over 200 Kazakh companies settling on the platform. High quality and distinctive Kazakh agricultural products such as honey and juice have also been favored and recognized by Chinese consumers.
The successful completion of China Kazakhstan Khorgos International Border Cooperation Center, China Kazakhstan Lianyungang Logistics Cooperation Base, "Khorgos East Gate" Special Economic Zone Dry Port and other projects has greatly promoted the connectivity between China and Kazakhstan, and continued to promote the vigorous development of China Kazakhstan logistics cooperation. According to official statistics from Kazakhstan, in 2022, the railway freight volume of China and Kazakhstan reached a record high of 23 million tons. The fast Trans-Eurasia Logistics are like "iron and steel caravans", which not only connect the logistics network between China and many European countries, but also allow the goods of countries along the line to "gather" in Kazakhstan, bringing broader business opportunities and weaving a "golden network" for practical cooperation between China and Kazakhstan.
Baktyjan Boglenov, an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Foreign relations of Kazakhstan, said that Kazakhstan China economic and trade cooperation has unique advantages and huge potential. The joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" cooperation has promoted Kazakhstan's infrastructure construction, especially the interconnection of Kazakhstan China highway, railway transit transport and international land sea multimodal transport, laying an important foundation for accelerating Kazakhstan's development and expanding Kazakhstan China cooperation in various fields, "paving a road to common development and prosperity".
Prime Minister Smyrov of Prime Minister of Kazakhstan said that China is an important economic and trade partner of Kazakhstan, and deepening practical cooperation between the two countries is of strategic significance to both sides. Both sides should further increase cooperation in agriculture, digitization and other fields, and enrich Kazakhstan China permanent comprehensive strategic partnership with more practical cooperation.
Promote cultural exchanges and promote people-to-people communication
In Almaty, the reporter met Zhang Xiangjun, Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "Xinjiang Institute of Geography"). His itinerary for his trip to Kazakhstan is packed. Over the years, the cooperation between Xinjiang Birthplace Institute and Kazakhstan has continued to advance. The soil improvement technology studied by Xinjiang Institute of Biological Sciences introduced, screened and bred cold tolerant plants to create an ecological barrier for the Astana ecosystem and reduce local economic losses caused by strong winds and sand dust. In late May, at the newly completed Consulate General of Kazakhstan in Xi'an, Xinjiang Institute of Biological Sciences signed an agreement with Ali Al-Farabi National University of Kazakhstan to jointly build the "Sino Kazakhstan Joint Laboratory for Remote Sensing Technology and Applications".
Recently, Chinese Consul General Jiang Wei in Almaty, Kazakhstan has been particularly busy. Under the promotion of the Consulate General, delegations from Jetisu Region, Tourch and Shymkent have successively visited relevant local provinces and cities in China, and leaders of Abai Region and East Kazakhstan Region have also put their visit to China on the agenda. Not long ago, Jiang Wei attended the Jambyl Region International Economic Investment Forum. At this forum, relevant Chinese enterprises signed memorandums of cooperation in food processing, new energy and other fields with the government of Jiangbul Prefecture. I fully feel the strong demand from various states in Kazakhstan for cooperation with China, "she said with a smile.
At the Chinese visa center in Almaty, the reporter met the president of East Kazakhstan University of Technology, Rakhmetulina. On May 18, the signing ceremony of the Kazakhstan Luban Workshop Cooperation and Construction Agreement was held in Vocational university. Rahmetulina stated that training equipment and teachers from China will enhance the vocational training level of automotive maintenance and related majors at Dongha University of Technology. Kazakhstan China cultural exchange and cooperation have become an important channel for promoting people-to-people communication.
"Work" and "homework"... The Confucius Institute at Ali Al-Farabi State University in Kazakhstan has a warm atmosphere in the classroom. A dozen Kazakh students are reading new Chinese words with their teachers.
In recent years, the "Chinese fever" and "Chinese culture fever" have continued to heat up in Kazakhstan. Currently, there are 5 Confucius Institutes in Kazakhstan, which complete over 3000 Chinese language training sessions per year. Chinese has become one of the most popular majors in Kazakhstan, and China has also become one of the most attractive destinations for studying abroad. Akmujiang Aslibekov, the Kazakh president of the Confucius Institute at Ali Al-Farabi National University in Kazakhstan, said: "It is of great significance for Kazakhstan China friendship for generations to train talented and well-educated young people through high-level Chinese teaching and cultural activities."
In Almaty, there is a street named after Chinese musician Xian Xinghai - Xian Xinghai Avenue. The bronze Xian Xinghai Monument on the main road silently tells a touching story of Sino Kazakhstan friendship: during World War II, Xian Xinghai came to Almaty from exile. When he was homeless, poor and sick, Kazakh musician Baikadamov gave him selfless help. It was during this period that Xian Xinghai created works such as Man Jianghong and Chinese Rhapsody, and created the symphonic poem Oman Gehrde according to the deeds of the Kazakh national hero Oman Gehrde.
In 2019, the first Sino Kazakh co production film "The Musician" was released, and the touching story of the sincere friendship between the two musicians was brought to the screen, winning multiple international awards. Kuanysh Akhmetov, the producer of "The Musician" from Kazakhstan, is very proud to participate in this Kazakhstan China cooperation project, explore and present that period of history. He deeply touched the reporter and said, "I hope to continue to enhance mutual understanding and trust between the people of Kazakhstan and China through artistic forms, and deepen the friendship between the two peoples
"In order to carry forward the spirit of friendship between the two peoples from generation to generation, the two sides agreed to hold a joint concert and other cultural activities on the theme of commemorating the friendship between Chinese musician Xian Xinghai and Kazakh musician Baikadamov" has been included in the joint statement signed by China and Kazakhstan not long ago, which has become a real footnote to promote people to people and good neighborly friendship between China and Kazakhstan through people to people exchanges.
Within the framework of the "Silk Road University Alliance", many top universities in China and Kazakhstan have close exchanges and cooperation. Loretta O'Donnell said that Nazarbayev University has established close cooperation with Tsinghua University, Xi'an Jiaotong University and other Chinese universities around the Silk Road archaeology, cultural heritage protection, scientific and technological innovation and many other fields. Through carrying out academic exchanges, exchange learning, cooperative research and other ways, they have promoted mutual understanding and promoted the educational development of Kazakhstan and China.
The friendship between nations lies in the mutual affinity between the people, and the mutual affinity between the people lies in the mutual connection of hearts. China and Kazakhstan are about to establish mutual cultural centers. Kazakhstan will build a Traditional medicine center and Luban Workshop. Cooperation in education, science, art, sports, tourism, press and publishing, radio and television, network audiovisual, film production and other fields will continue to deepen... Within the framework of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", China and Kazakhstan will take greater steps in people to people exchanges and cooperation, and the foundation of people friendship will become stronger and stronger.
The great poet and thinker of Kazakhstan, Abay Kunambayev, once said, "The world is like an ocean, and times are like strong winds. Jointly building the "the Belt and Road" initiative conforms to the historical trend and the trend of the times. Taking advantage of the "the Belt and Road" initiative, Kazakhstan has become a hot spot for development. From a new starting point, China and Kazakhstan will continue to be pioneers in jointly building the "the Belt and Road", and promote the building of a community of shared future between China and Kazakhstan featuring generations of friendship, high mutual trust and common weal and woe.