Tokayev Meets Chinese Business Executives, Kazakhstan-China Investment Forum Attracts Nearly 200 Chinese Companies

【Tokayev Meets Chinese Business Executives, Energy and Digitalization in Focus】 Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently met with Yin Caiwan, representative of Hong Kong Zhongke Oil and Gas Co., Ltd., Chen Sheng (Sheng Chen), representative of 21Vianet Group, Tian Jiashu, representative of Shanghai Junhe Atomic Technology Co., Ltd., and Shan Li, member of the Investment Committee of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The talks focused on prospects for joint projects in energy, digitalization, and finance. Tokayev emphasized that the Kazakhstan-China comprehensive strategic partnership is showing unprecedented momentum and that it is crucial to give it a deeper technological and industrial dimension. He said the participation of leading Chinese companies demonstrates their high trust in Kazakhstan. Tokayev also separately thanked Yin Caiwan and the company he leads for their contribution to organizing the Kazakhstan-China Investment Forum, and noted that Hong Kong Zhongke Oil and Gas Co. has invested more than $3 billion during its years of operation in Kazakhstan, becoming one of the key players in the country's oil and gas industry. Chen Sheng (Sheng Chen), Executive Chairman of the Board of 21Vianet Group, expressed interest in participating in the development of large data centers and AI infrastructure clusters. Tokayev confirmed that Kazakhstan is ready to work closely with the company in areas such as attracting investment, technology localization, joint research, talent training, and establishing centers of excellence. The peaceful use of nuclear energy was identified as a promising direction for technological cooperation with Shanghai Junhe Atomic Technology Co., Ltd., and both sides emphasized the importance of building a full industrial chain from natural uranium processing and nuclear fuel production to the assembly of small modular reactors. The heads of the Chinese companies highly praised Kazakhstan's ongoing efforts to improve the investment climate and advance institutional reforms, considering the strengthening of state institutions an important sign of the country's long-term stability, and confirmed their readiness to increase investment in traditional energy sectors as well as in new industries and projects. 【Kazakhstan-China Investment Forum Unprecedented in Scale, Robots, Automobiles, Pharmaceuticals, and More Flourish】 Sultanhali Kenzhekulov, Chairman of the Board of Kazakhstan's national investment company, said this is the first time the event has been held on such a large scale, with nearly 100 companies from Kazakhstan also participating in the forum to seek new technologies, partners, and direct investment. Kenzhekulov said: "More than 200 Chinese companies have come to attend. They are not simply trading companies, but large investors that have already invested in Kazakhstan or intend to build production facilities here, showing genuine investment interest." About 45 commercial documents are planned to be signed during the forum, covering multiple fields such as high technology, machinery manufacturing, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, logistics, and processing and manufacturing. Among them, the robotics industry has become one of the forum's key projects. Kazakhstan's NERO Group is working with China's UBTECH Robotics to advance a robot localization production project, planning to build a humanoid robot production base in Kazakhstan. In the automotive industry, Astana Motors has reached cooperation with China's Chery Group to produce OMODA and JAECOO brand cars in Kazakhstan, and relevant parties are also studying the possibility of assembling Li Auto vehicles at the Allur plant in Kostanay. In the pharmaceutical field, plans are underway to advance localized production of oncology drugs. In the transportation and logistics field, the forum involves projects such as building a "smart" logistics park in the Khorgos border area, modernizing the Kuryk port, and building a large cargo hub in Almaty Region. Projects in the industrial and processing manufacturing fields include building a green copper production enterprise in Aktobe Region, advancing the Xinfa coal chemical complex project, and building a corn deep-processing plant in Zhambyl Region. The forum also featured three thematic discussion sessions on topics such as new economic corridors, digital ecosystems, and industrial cooperation, as well as B2B business-to-business negotiations. In recent years, Kazakhstan-China economic, trade, and investment cooperation has continued to expand. In 2025, bilateral trade volume reached about $49 billion. Information released at the forum shows that currently more than 8,500 enterprises with Chinese capital participation operate in Kazakhstan, and China's cumulative investment in Kazakhstan exceeds $30 billion. The forum aims to further promote expanded direct investment and technological cooperation between enterprises of the two countries and facilitate more projects to achieve localized production in Kazakhstan.