China and Kazakh enterprises sign agreements on 18 cooperative projects at the 8th China-Kazakhstan Business Council held in Beijing, on September 2, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade

China and Kazakh enterprises signed agreements on 18 cooperative projects, covering new energy, finance, robotics, digital economy, logistics, and industrial parks on Tuesday at the 8th China-Kazakhstan Business Council held in Beijing.

A joint signing ceremony for the 18 projects was held in the presence of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday.

Several representatives of companies participating in the business council told the Global Times that China and Kazakhstan are advancing cooperation in a wide range of areas, digital economy in particular.

Cooperative projects supporting the development of cutting-edge technologies are trending between the two countries. For example, on Tuesday, Jiangsu Huibo Robot Technology Co., Ltd and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University signed an agreement to jointly build an international faculty for digital technologies and robotics.

"Backed by the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Kazakh economies are highly complementary, enabling a broad room for cooperation," Li Kangchao, general manager of Beijing Polyking New Horizons Technology Industry Co., Ltd., told Global Times on Tuesday at the sidelines of the 8th China-Kazakhstan Business Council.

Beijing Polyking New Horizons Technology Industry Co signed two agreements with Kazakh partners on Tuesday, including a high-end manufacturing industrial park with Almaty city government and an engineering and infrastructure investment agreement with a local enterprise.

Li also noted that the large-scale cooperative agreements signed between Chinese and Kazakh companies will support the overall digitalization of local industries, including the building of cloud warehousing, T+0 payment settlements, and AI-driven marketing, which requires a comprehensive ecosystem from software to hardware.

"I think it is important to emphasize that thanks to production capacities of China, residents of Kazakhstan will be able to access high-quality and affordable goods, with delivery even to the most remote regions of the country," Bekezhan Zhakeev, Chairman of the Board of Qazpost JSC, told the Global Times at the sidelines of the 8th China-Kazakhstan Business Council.

Zhakeev also noted that Qazpost JSC's cooperation with CITIC Poly Fund is based on a strategic vision for the development of the postal and logistics industry in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

More than 40 agreements worth over $3.7 billion were signed following the 7th session of the Business Council held last July in Astana, according to a report by Kazinform News Agency.

The bilateral business council was set up in 2013. It now evolves into a dialogue platform for business communities from both countries, as well as an important platform for enlarging trade, economic and investment cooperation between China and Kazakhstan.

According to organizer of the event, the 8th business council brought together over 500 representatives of companies from China and Kazakhstan, including over 70 large companies from China.

The economic and trade cooperation between Kazakhstan and China has been expanding. Bilateral trade volume has steadily increased in the past years, with China maintaining the position as Kazakhstan's top trading partner, Xu Jinli, head of the Bilateral Cooperation Department of the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), told Global Times on Tuesday.

"The cooperation between the two countries in areas such as energy, technology, and infrastructure has achieved fruitful results and holds great potential, providing strong impetus for bilateral investment and mutual benefit," said Xu.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and CCOIC, its affiliation, adopted multifaceted strategies to enhance China-Kazakhstan economic and trade cooperation, playing a pivotal role through diverse initiatives, Xu noted.

"For instance, we organized delegation exchanges to foster friendly business interactions, provide high-quality legal services to ensure orderly collaboration, and actively strengthen exhibition cooperation to build enterprise exchange platforms. Additionally, we leverage the functions of CCPIT's Kazakhstan representative office to deliver targeted services, supporting Chinese enterprises in trade and investment cooperation," said Xu.

Prior to Tuesday's business council, Kazakh president Tokayev attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 held in North China's Tianjin, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Tokayev arrived in Beijing on Monday for the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Global Times