1. Basic overview of Kazakhstan

The core of "World Island"

Hometown of Indo-European

(1) Humanities and Geography of Kazakhstan

The Republic of Kazakhstan, abbreviated as Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country located in Central Asia with an area of   2,724,900 square kilometers. It is the largest landlocked country in the world. It borders Russia, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other countries, and faces Iran and Azerbaijan across the Caspian Sea.



The Kazakh Khanate was established at the end of the 15th century AD, and the Kazakh tribe was basically formed in the early 16th century. From the 19th century, the entire territory was annexed by the Russian Empire. In 1936, the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic merged into the Soviet Union and became one of the Soviet Union. Independence on December 16, 1991, the establishment of the Republic of Kazakhstan.



Kazakhstan ranks ninth in the world in terms of land area, accounting for about 2% of the earth ’s land surface area. The territory spans Asia and Europe. The Ural River on the border between Asia and Europe is Kazakhstan ’s inland river. The total length of the national border exceeds 10,500 kilometers.



Kazakhstan can reach Azerbaijan and Iran through the Caspian Sea, and the Azov and Black Seas through the Volga and Don river canals. It connects Xinjiang, China in the southeast, Russia in the north, and Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan in the south.

Topography

 Kazakhstan has complicated terrain, mostly in plains and lowlands. It is characterized by high southeast and low northwest, and most of the territory is plain and lowland. The terrain in the west and southwest is the lowest.



The lowlands along the Caspian Sea gradually descended toward the south toward the Caspian Sea. The area along the Caspian Sea was 28 meters below sea level; the lowest point was the Karachie Basin, which was 132 meters below sea level. It gradually rises southwards, forming the Karatau and Aktau Mountains on the Stewart Plateau and the Mangslak Peninsula at an altitude of 200-300 meters (555 meters above sea level). There is the Turan Plain in the northeast of the country, which gradually transitions from the northeast of Kazakhstan to the Kazakh hills through the middle, and then extends to the Tianshan Mountains in the southeast. In the north, the Kazakh hills are connected to the southern edge of the Western Siberian Plain.



In the east and southeast of Kazakhstan, there are mountains with high mountains and inter-basin basins, where Altai Mountains, Tal Bahatai Mountains, Junggar Alatau Mountains, Waili Alatau Mountains, Tianshan Mountains, etc. stand. The Altai Mountains are divided into South Altai Mountains and North Altai Mountains in Kazakhstan. The altitude is between 2300-2600 meters above sea level, and the highest peak, Beluha Peak, is 4,506 meters above sea level. The Junggar Alatau Mountain Range is 450 kilometers long and 100-350 kilometers wide. It is divided into the North Junggar Alatau Mountain and the South Junggar Alatau Mountain by the Koksu and Bolatal Rivers. Its highest peak, Besbakan, is 4,464 meters above sea level. Located in the southeastern tip of Kazakhstan, the Tianshan Mountains are the mountains of China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Their majestic and steep peaks are covered by snow and glaciers for many years. The highest peak, Khan Tengri, is 6,995 meters above sea level, which is also the highest peak in Kazakhstan.

Climate characteristics

Kazakhstan has a continental climate. The average temperature in January is -19 ℃ to -4 ℃, and the average temperature in July is 19 ℃ to 26 ℃. The natural conditions in northern Kazakhstan are similar to those in central Russia and southern England. The natural conditions in the south are similar to those in the Mediterranean countries of the Trans-Caucasus and southern Europe. There are both lowlands below tens of meters below sea level and towering alpine mountains, where the snow and glaciers on the top of the mountain do not change for many years. The precipitation is 300-500 mm in the north, about 100 mm in the desert, and 1000-2000 mm in the mountainous area. The southwest belongs to the Turan lowland and the lowlands along the Caspian Sea. The central and eastern parts belong to the Kazakh hills, and the eastern edge is mountainous. Most of the semi-deserts and deserts of Kazakhstan are in the southwest. The natural environment in the north is similar to that of Russia, and it is more humid. Both the northern and Caspian regions can accept water vapor from the ocean.

Hydrology

Kazakhstan has more than 85,000 large and small rivers, many domestic lakes, as many as 48,000, and more than 2,700 glaciers. The main water bodies include Balkhash Lake and Jaisangpo. It shares the Aral Sea with Uzbekistan, and the Caspian Sea to the west. Most lakes are saltwater lakes. Most of the rivers in the territory are inland rivers, mainly the Syr, Ural, Chu, and so on. The Irtysh River and the tributary Ishim River are outflow rivers that flow to the Arctic Ocean.

Capital

 The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana, with a population of 873,000 (2016). Astana is located in the center of Kazakhstan and slightly north, on the right bank of the Ishim River. It is the center of Kazakhstan's politics, culture, education, economy, trade, and tourism. Astana was a Russian fortress in 1830, and it was called Akmolinsk in 1832. In 1961, the name was changed to Celinograd, meaning "the city of the reclamation". In 1992, it was changed to Akmora. On July 6, 1994, the Kazakhstan Parliament passed a resolution to move the capital to Akmora. December 1997 The capital was moved on the 10th. On May 6, 1998, Kazakh President Nu-Nazarbayev ordered that Akmora be renamed Astana. The capital transfer ceremony was held on June 10 of the same year.

Astana is on the border between the Russian-dominated northern region and the Kazakh-dominated southern region. It is more than 1,300 kilometers from the original capital Almaty. The Ishim River passes around the city. The weather is pleasant in all seasons and the ecological environment Good and expanding rapidly. It is the main production base of industry and agriculture in Kazakhstan and the national railway transportation hub.

Astana city center

Almaty was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to October 1997. Located in the southeast of Kazakhstan and at the foot of the northern side of the Altai Mountains, it is the economic and cultural center of Kazakhstan. center.

Almaty night view

[Population and Nationality] Kazakhstan is a multi-ethnic country with a total of 125 ethnic groups, mainly Kazakh, Russian, Uzbek, Ukrainian, Uyghur, etc. Among them, Kazakh is the main ethnic group of Kazakhstan, but also China, Minorities in Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Mongolia, and other countries. According to the latest data released by the Kazakhstan National Statistics Agency, as of January 1, 2016, the population of Kazakhstan was 17.6709 million, of which Kazakhs accounted for 64.6%, Russians 22.3%, Uzbeks 3%, and Ukrainians 1.9%, Uyghurs account for 1.4%, Tatars 1.2%, Germans 1.1%, and other ethnic groups 4.5%. Women accounted for 51.7% and men accounted for 48.3%. The urban population is 10,06,700, and the rural population is 7,604,200. The number of population ranks fourth among CIS countries.

Kazakhstan uses Kazakh language, which is divided into three dialects in the south, west, and northeast, and belongs to the Turkic language family of the Altai language family. Kazakh and Russian are both official languages. Adults who master Kazakh speak about 67.5% of the total population. "Kazakh" means "asylum seeker" or "breakaway." The Kazakh nation was formed in the Kazakh Khanate during the 15th century. The Kazakh ethnicity is a mixed type between the Mongolian ethnic North Asian type and the Europa ethnic Indian Mediterranean type, and belongs to the mixed race.

The number of Chinese in Kazakhstan is relatively small. In addition to the "Donggan" who have historically migrated from China to Kazakhstan (and Kyrgyzstan), in recent years, they have also moved from Xinjiang's Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture to some Chinese Kazakhs. These Chinese are mainly concentrated in Almaty and East Kazakhstan in southeastern Kazakhstan. There are no precise statistics on the floating population who have entered Kazakhstan for business since China. The relevant departments of Kazakhstan estimate that there are about 40,000 to 50,000 people, mainly concentrated in Almaty city, engaged in Chinese goods wholesale business.

Religion

During the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan became a non-religious and socialist country. At that time, the government banned all churches and mosques. Since independence, religion has become a free choice for people. The people of Kazakhstan generally believe in religion. According to the "Religious Activities and Religious Groups Law" promulgated in 2011, the re-registration of religious groups was conducted. As of October 25, 2012, the number of national religious sects after re-registration was reduced from 46 to 17, and the number of religious groups decreased from 4,551. To 3088.

 The main religions in Kazakhstan are Islam, Christianity (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant), Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. The main ethnic group, Kazakh, believes in Islam and belongs to Sunni, accounting for about 69% of the total population. It is the largest sect in Kazakhstan. The Orthodox Church is the second-largest religion in Kazakhstan, with believers accounting for about 30% of the total population, mainly Russians. Other ethnic minorities believe in the traditional religions of their respective ethnic groups. In the 8th century, Islam spread to the grasslands of Chinza. When the Saman dynasty sent troops to the Talas, the Nestorian church was turned into a mosque. Islamization began. The Islamization was strengthened during the reign of the elder brothers of the Golden Horde and the month of Beghan, and Islam became the state religion for a short period of time when the Kazakh Khanate took over Khan. Interestingly, the Islamization of the Kazakhs has a lot to do with Russian Tatars (Russians want to use Tatar Mullah to surrender them).

The Kazakh Constitution stipulates: "The Republic of Kazakhstan is a democratic, secular, legal and social country." This shows that Kazakhstan implements a secular policy of governing the country and a policy of separation of administration and religion. President Nazarbayev repeatedly emphasized that Kazakhstan is a secular country and opposed the excessive deepening of Islam to prevent the development of terrorism.

(2) Political environment

Government

 Kazakhstan is a presidential republic. The Constitution stipulates that Kazakhstan is a "democratic, non-religious and unified country"; a republic state that promotes a presidential system, the president is the head of state, the basic policy that determines the country ’s internal and external policies, and the highest representative of Kazakhstan in international relations State officials are a symbol and guarantee of the unification of the people and the state, the unshakable nature of the Constitution, civil rights and freedom.

The term of office of the President of Kazakhstan is 7 years. On May 18, 2007, the Kazakh parliament passed a constitutional amendment that authorized Nur Sultan Nazarbayev to be re-elected as president without any restrictions. The President can appoint the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Finance, the Interior, and the Chairman of the National Security Council, subject to the consent of the Supreme Soviet.

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On May 20, 2014, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev accepted an exclusive interview with Xinhuanet to communicate online with Chinese netizens and answer questions from Chinese netizens

On June 12, 2010, Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with Kazakh President Nazarbayev in Astana

Constitution

 The current constitution was adopted by a referendum on August 30, 1995. On October 7, 1998, the state power was revised on the basis of the Constitution and the law. According to the legislative, judicial, and administrative powers, the three powers were separated and interacted with each other. The principle of mutual balance is realized. In mid-June 2007, the Kazakh parliament passed a constitutional amendment to determine the transition of the Kazakh government from the presidential system to the president-parliamentary system, and the first president is a lifelong system; expand the parliamentary powers, enhance the role of political parties and increase the number of members; the majority of parliamentary groups get the right to form cabinets It also recommends candidates for the prime minister; expands the power of local self-government, the appointment of local chief executives must be approved by the local council, and the term of office of the members of the state council is extended from 4 to 5 years; promotes judicial reform, clarifies the responsibilities of the court and the prosecutor, simplifies the judicial process, and protects the judicial system.

Parliament

The parliament is the highest representative body of the country. It exercises legislative functions and implements a two-chamber system ( the upper and lower chambers are called the Senate and Mariges, respectively). The term of office of the upper house is 6 years, and that of the lower house is 5 years. The main functions are: to adopt and amend and supplement the Constitution and laws of the Republic; to approve the President ’s appointment of the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the National Security Council, the Attorney General, and the President of the National Bank. The president has the right to dissolve the parliament when the parliament filed a no-confidence case against the government, twice rejected the president ’s appointment of the prime minister, and caused a political crisis due to unresolved differences between the two houses of parliament or between the parliament and other parts of the country ’s political power. Members of Parliament are elected by voters by direct voting. The Speaker of the Upper House of the Parliament, Kasem Rumart Kemelevich Tokayev (ТОКАЕВ Касым-Жомарт Кемелевич), took office in October 2013. The Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Nurlan Zailulajevic Nygmatulin (Нурлан Зайруллаевич Нигматулин), took office in January 2012. The main functions of the Parliament are: to adopt and amend and supplement the Constitution and laws of the Republic; to approve the appointment of the President to the Prime Minister, Chairman of the National Security Council, Attorney General, and Governor of the Central Bank; to approve and repeal international treaties; to approve the national economy and social development plans, national budget plans and reports on their implementation, etc. The president has the right to dissolve the parliament when the parliament filed a no-confidence case against the government, twice rejected the president ’s appointment of the prime minister, and caused a political crisis due to insurmountable differences between the two houses of parliament or between the parliament and the other parts of the national government.

Government

The highest administrative organ of the country exercises the administrative power of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Its activities are responsible to the President of the Republic. The current government was formed in April 2014, with Ka Masimov (К.Масимов) as prime minister. The main members of the government are: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development: Ba Sakintayev (Б. Сагинтаев ); Deputy Prime Minister: Ye Orebayev (Е.Орынбаев); Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and New Technology: A. Ishekev (А.Исекешев); Minister of the Interior: Ka Kasimov ( К.Касымов); Minister of Health: Sa Kailbekova (С.Каирбекова); Minister of Foreign Affairs: Ye Idrisov (Е.Идрисов); Minister of Culture and Information: Mu Kulmuhammed (М. Кул-муххамед); Minister of National Defence: A. Jaksebekov (А.Джаксыбеков); Minister of Education and Science: A. Salin Zipov (А.Саринжипов); Minister of Environmental Protection: Nu Kapalov (Н.Каппаров) ; Minister of Agriculture: A. Mamei Specialkov (А.Мамытбеков); Minister of Transport and Communications: A. Rumagaliev (А.Жумагалиев); Labor and Social Security Minister: Ta Duisenova (Т. Дуйсенова); Minister of Finance: Bo Jean Misev (Б.Жамишев); Minister of Emergency Situations: V. Bozhko (В.Божко); Minister of Economy and Budget Planning : Ye Dosayev (Е. Досаев); Minister of Justice: Bey Imashev (Б. Имашев); Minister of Oil and Gas: U Karabalin (У.Карибалин); Minister of Economic Integration: Za · Aizanova (Ж.Айтжанова).

[Judiciary] There are the Supreme Judicial Committee of the Republic, the Judicial Expertise Committee, the Constitution Committee, the Supreme Court and local courts at all levels. In early 2001, Kazakhstan passed the Law on the Judicial System and the Status of Judges, which stipulates that judges shall perform their duties independently and only obey the Constitution and laws. The Supreme Judiciary Committee is chaired by the President. The current chairman is T. Donakov (Т.Донаков), who took office in January 2012. Its members include the Chairman of the Constitution Committee, the President of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Minister of Justice, and the members of the House of Lords. . The President of the Supreme Court, Bektas Beknazarov (Бектас Бекназаров), took office in April 2011. Attorney General Ashhar Dalbayev (Асхат Даулбаев), took office in April 2011.

[Political Party] Ha began to implement political pluralism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After independence, the multi-party system was promoted. The Political Party Law was promulgated in July 2002, which stipulates that only parties with more than 50,000 party members, with branches in 14 states and two municipalities across the country, and parties with more than 700 members in each branch can be approved by the Ministry of Justice Register. As of December 2011, the Ministry of Justice has registered a total of 9 political parties, mainly including:

(1) "People's Democratic Party of Light of the Motherland" (Народно-демократическая партия "НУР ОТАН"): established and registered on December 22, 2006 It has 770,000 members and is the largest political party in Kazakhstan. President Nazarbayev personally served as the party's chairman, and the first vice-chairman was Baibek. The party fully supports the policies of President Nazarbayev. Advocating the establishment of a free and open society on the basis of principles such as social partnership and harmony; advocating the strengthening of the state ’s social functions; in the economic aspect, advocating the strengthening of the country ’s macroeconomic regulation and control capabilities; and in terms of external relations, advocating the consolidation and development of the same as Russia and China Good-neighborly relations between Asian neighbors and China. The party fully supports President Nazarbayev's "Kazakhstan Road" development program, is committed to studying and implementing specific reform measures, and advocates maintaining the current Constitution and fully exploiting its potential. The party has an absolute majority of seats in the lower house of the Kazakh parliament and local councils.

(2) Kazakh Communist People's Party (Коммунистическая народная партия Казахстана): Founded in April 2004 after the Kazakh Communist Party's split, it has 90,000 members and the party's central secretary is Akhme Specialkov. The party calls itself a constructive opposition, and its members are mainly workers, students, intellectuals, retirees, and entrepreneurs. In the January 2012 election of the lower house of parliament, he won 7.19% of the votes and entered the parliament. There are 7 seats in Parliament.

(3) Democratic Party of "Light Road" (Демократическая партия Казахстана "Ак жол"): established in April 2002, with 176,000 party members. The party is Kazakhstan's "constructive opposition". The chairman is Peruashev. In the election of the lower house of the Kazakh parliament held in August 2007, the party won 3.27% of the votes, failing to cross the 7% parliamentary threshold. In the election of the lower house of the Kazakh parliament in January 2012, the party won 7.43% of the votes to enter the parliament. There are 8 seats in Parliament. The purpose of the party is to build an independent, prosperous, democratic, free, and fair Kazakhstan and is the main participant and promoter of the political democratization movement in Kazakhstan.

In addition, registered by the Ministry of Justice as well as a legal political party National Social Democratic Party (Государственная социально-демакратическая партия и "Азат" referred ГСДП "Азат"), Kazakhstan Patriots Party (Партия патриотов Казахстана), the Communist Party of Kazakhstan (Коммунистическая партия Казахстана), Kazakhstan The "rural" Social Democratic Party (Казахстанская социал-демократическая партия "Ауыл"), the party of spiritual rehabilitation (Партия "Руханият")

In January 2012, Kazakhstan held elections for the lower house of parliament. The "Natural Light" party led by President Nazarbayev won an absolute majority of seats in the lower house of the parliament. The "Bright Road" party and the Communist People's Party entered the parliament.

In April 2015, Kazakhstan held a presidential election, and President Nazarbayev won the re-election with an absolute advantage.

The current President Nazarbayev has served as president since independence, and under his leadership, the Kazakh political elites have worked hard to achieve governance, and have implemented progressive democratic political reform, political stability, economic development, national unity, and society as a whole. More harmonious.

Diplomatic Relations

 Kazakhstan positions itself as a "powerful important regional power", pursues an "all-round pragmatic and balanced" diplomacy centered on the consolidation of independence and sovereignty, and actively expands its influence in regional and international affairs. The key diplomatic targets are Russia, the United States, China, the European Union, and Central Asian countries. At the same time, Kazakhstan is gradually expanding its contacts with Asia-Pacific and Latin American countries. The Commonwealth of Independent States is the priority direction of Kazakhstan's diplomacy; Kazakhstan has strengthened its economic, political, and military integration with Russia and other CIS countries in recent years. On January 1, 2015, it cooperated with Russia, Belarus, Armenia and other countries Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Kazakhstan is also actively developing cooperation with European countries with the aim of comprehensively enhancing Kazakh-European relations; Kazakhstan ’s diplomacy with Islamic countries continues to maintain an active momentum, actively participates in various activities in the Islamic world, and promotes civilized dialogue between Islamic and Western countries. As a non-nuclear country, Kazakhstan has joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Has joined the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other major international organizations, and seeks to join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Organization. In May 1994, Kazakhstan joined NATO's "Partnership for Peace" plan, advocating the establishment of an Asian security system, and believed that the main feature of the contemporary world is the fight against terrorism. The international community should unite together to deal with the threats and challenges facing human society.

On June 15, 2011, Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. This is after the meeting, Hu Jintao and the heads of the participating member states met with reporters

(3) Customs and traditions

Customs

The Kazakh people have lived a nomadic life for a long time in the past, and they are called "people on horseback."

In the past, in the social and family life of Kazakhs, patriarchal feudal relations dominated, male parents enjoyed absolute power, and women were in a powerless position. The Kazakhs live in a portable Turkic felt house, built of wooden poles and felt blankets. The interior is luxurious and beautiful, mostly pure handmade products. Living in a wooden house or flat-roofed earth house in winter, the equipment is very simple. The diet is mostly prepared with rice noodles, such as naan, pilaf, "baoersak" (that is, dough fried from lamb oil or beef), and is fond of grabbing lamb. Folk creations are rich, such as legendary stories, lyric poetry, and satire.

                                                    Kazakh

National Costume

 The Kazakh ethnic group is characterized by grassland nomadic culture. The clothing is easy to ride. Its national clothing is mostly made of sheepskin, fox skin, deerskin, and wolf skin, reflecting the characteristics of the life of the mountain grassland people. Women wear long flower cloth dresses in summer and like to decorate with silver dollars or silver products. Winter coat with cardigan, mostly made of winter sheepskin. The woman wears a white cloth hijab, a white cloth turban, and a heel, and the top left of the turban is decorated with ornaments. The young woman wore around flower hat and her cap was made of owl feathers. In winter, men usually wear sheepskin, fox fur, wolf skin large coats and coats in camel hair, belts around the waist, a knife on the right, and pants made of cowhide.

                                      Kazakh national costume

In history, the vast majority of Kazakh people have lived in nomadic life living on water plants, so their clothing has the characteristics of a rich grassland animal husbandry life. Herdsmen mainly use the fur of livestock as the raw material for clothes. Kazakh men like to wear cotton sweaters and trousers, such as corduroy and gabardine. Most colors are black and brown. In winter, mainly wear leather coats and leather pants. The material is mainly sheepskin, but also wolf skin, fox skin or other precious animal skins. In order to facilitate getting on and off the horse, the pants are made of sheepskin to make large crotch pants, so they are wide and strong, and durable. Most of the shirts have high collars and embroidered lace. Shirt jacket jacket shoulders, wearing short clothes on the jacket shoulders, and sometimes also put on "loops".

"Sharibal". Due to frequent horse riding, men and women wear long leather boots

Diet

 The main foods of Kazakh people are beef and mutton, milk, pasta, vegetables, etc., and their habits are basically the same as those in Europe. The most frequently consumed drinks are milk tea and horse milk.

The traditional food of the Kazakhs is lamb, goat milk and its products, and the most popular dish is the hand lamb. In Kazakh, it is called "Bishbarmak", which means "five fingers", which means grabbing and eating with hands, which is also a specialty of Kazakh cuisine.

In Kazakhstan, the most attractive thing is horse meat. In the severe winter season, many people who live in the cold regions of the north eat horse meat to resist the cold.

2. History of Kazakhstan 

(1) Kazakhstan is the birthplace of Indo-Europeans

The main part of Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia. This is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with a long history from the Stone Age to modern times. It is generally believed that the Indo-European people who had a great influence on the history of the world originated in Kazakhstan and nearby Central Asia.

From ancient times until around 1000 AD, the Indo-European people dominated Kazakhstan. Whether it is the Ahemmenid dynasty in Persia, the Greek dynasty established after the Alexander Expedition, and even the Samanian dynasty from the 9th to the 10th century AD, it can be said to be the dynasty of the Indo-European family. Although there was the conquest of the Semitic Arabs in the middle, the Umayyad dynasty ruled Central Asia for a short period of time. The subsequent Abbasid dynasty and the Saman dynasty belonging to Central Asia were actually dynasties established by the East Iranians. The demise of the Saman dynasty in 999 AD marked the end of the complete rule of the Iranian language community in Kazakhstan and even Central Asia.

(2) Turkicization of Kazakhstan

The ethnic changes in the history of Central Asia have been affected by three major events in the east. The first was the rise of the Huns and the westward migration of the North Huns, the second was the expansion and westward movement of the Turkic Khanate, and the third was the Western Expedition of Mongolia and the rule of the Mongolian Khanate. These several historical events have caused the national migration of the Eurasian continent and promoted the Turkicization of Central Asia and Kazakhstan.

After the Turkization and Islamization were basically realized in the 11th and 12th centuries AD, Central Asia and Xinjiang, China gradually became areas where the Muslims of the Congolese ethnic group were the main residents. From the 16th century to modern times, the current Kazakh, Kyrgyz (Kirkiz), Uzbek, and Tajik ethnic groups are all transnational ethnic groups between China and Central Asian countries.

The earliest inhabitants of the Kazakh steppe are currently considered to be Scythians. After the Huns moved westward, the Turkic peoples also began to enter.

The Turkic Khanate was established from the middle of the 6th century to the 8th century. In 766 AD, the Gelulu of the Turkic tribe established Yehu State in present-day Kazakhstan. In the 8th century, the south was occupied by the Arabs and the Samanic dynasty. From the 9th century to the 12th century, the west and southwest, the south and the north successively joined Ugus, Khan, Kimak, and Chinza. In the first half of the 12th century, it was invaded by the Qidan people (Xiliao). In the early 13th century, they were conquered by the Mongols and controlled by the Golden Horde.

In the 15th century, most of Kazakhstan's land was separated from the Golden Horde and became part of the Yuebei Khan (Uzbekistan). The Uzbek Khanate is centered on the lower reaches of the Syr River, north of the Topol River, and northeast of the Irtysh River. In 1456, the Khan state had two Sultans (Jilai and Zanibek). Due to the internal conflict, they fled east into the Yili Lili area, and they also took the Li River to the Chuqi and West Qihe Districts of the Talas River Basin. Let them nomad to enhance their strength. This part of the people who separated from the Uzbek Khanate is called the Kazakhs, which means "asylum seekers" or "disengaged people", and is escaped as "free people"; "Stan" means the country. Together, it refers to "the place where free people live" or "the country of Kazakhstan". (The term "Kazakh" has four meanings, and "the breakaway" is only one of them.)

After the establishment of the Kazakh Khanate, many nomadic tribes in the surrounding area joined. After decades of differentiation and integration, the Kazakh people have gradually formed. Therefore, the ethnic origin of the Kazakhs is more complicated, including the Scythians, Wusun, Amai, Dayue, Turks, Tiele, Khasa, Gimak, Aerhun, Geluolu, Nogai people, scorn children, Wanggu, Hongjila and other ethnic groups. They are distributed in the Altai Mountains, Kazakh hills to the Black Sea. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Kazakhs were divided into three Khanates: Dayuzi, Zhongyuzi, and Xiaoyuzi (big account, middle account, and small account).

In the 17th century, a powerful nomadic regime emerged in Central Asia-the Junggar Khanate established by Moxi Mongolia. Under the aggression of the Junggar Khan State, Xiao Yuzi sent a mission in September 1730 to request Russia to accept Russia; in December 1735, Yuz also joined Russia, and Dayuzi was annexed by the Junggar Khan. However, the Junggar Khanate died in the stronger Qing empire in 1757, so Dayuzi and Zhongyuzi became vassals of the Qing empire.

Later, due to a long-term war between the Junggar and the Qing Dynasty, due to military conflicts and the outbreak of disease, the population decreased sharply. Junggar disappeared south of the east of Lake Balkhash today. On the one hand, due to the disappearance of the Junggar, the other On the other hand, due to the Tsarist Russia ’s aggression against Central Asia, the Kazakhs gradually migrated to the territory of the Qing Empire, which is rich in grass and sparsely populated south of the east of the Balkhash Lake, and extended from the east of the Balkhash Lake to the northern border of Xinjiang, China.

In the 19th century, the Qing empire declined after the Opium War, so Russia seized the opportunity to occupy the Qing empire in the east of the Balkhash Lake in 1864. Today, most of Kazakhstan is owned by Russia. Due to the Russian Revolution on December 13, 1917, most of today ’s Kazakhstan ’s land became part of the Alash Autonomous Republic, which was temporarily independent from Russian rule.

After the establishment of the Soviet regime in March 1918, on August 26, 1920, the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Autonomous Republic was established. It belongs to the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan belongs to the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Autonomous Republic.

On April 19, 1925, according to the national boundaries of Central Asian countries, the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Autonomous Republic became independent. On December 5, 1936, it was named Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, and at the same time joined the Soviet Union, becoming the Soviet Union.

On October 25, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Kazakhstan adopted the Declaration of National Sovereignty. On December 10, 1991, it was renamed the Republic of Kazakhstan. On December 16, the same year, the Kazakh National Independence Law was passed, which officially declared independence, and joined the CIS on the 21st.

3. Economic situation and investment environment of Kazakhstan
 

(1) Kazakh resource endowment

Kazakhstan is very rich in natural resources. As of 2014, there are more than 90 proven mineral deposits. In addition, 21.7 million hectares of forest and afforestation. 53 billion cubic meters of surface water resources. Most of the cultivated land is planted with spring wheat-based food crops, and also produces cotton, sugar beets, tobacco, etc.

Mineral resources

Kazakhstan ’s natural resources, especially solid mineral resources, are very rich. There are more than 90 mineral deposits and more than 1,200 mineral raw materials. There are more than 500 proven black, colored, rare, and precious metal deposits. Many mineral reserves account for a high proportion of global reserves, such as more than 50% tungsten, 25% uranium, 23% chromium ore, 19% lead, 13% zinc, 10% copper, and iron, many varieties rank among the best in the world. Kazakhstan is rich in oil reserves, with proven reserves ranking seventh in the world and second in the CIS. According to the data released by the Kazakhstan Reserve Committee, Kazakhstan ’s current recoverable reserves of oil are 4 billion tons, and the recoverable reserves of natural gas are 3 trillion cubic meters.

(1) Oil and gas. The proven reserves of oil on the mainland are 4.8-5.9 billion tons, the reserves of natural gas are 3.5 trillion cubic meters, and the proven reserves of the Caspian Sea are 8 billion tons, of which the largest recoverable oil reserves in the Kashagan oil field amount to 1 billion tons. The recoverable reserves exceed 1 trillion cubic meters. The Caspian Sea region of Kazakhstan in the region with the largest potential for oil extraction in Kazakhstan. The Caspian Basin is one of the regions with the most abundant oil and gas reserves in the world today. According to expert estimates, total oil reserves can reach 90-200 billion barrels, and natural gas reserves are 458.8 trillion cubic meters, accounting for 17.2% of the world ’s total oil and gas reserves. 7.5%, so the Caspian Sea is called "the second Middle East". There are five countries around the Caspian Sea, namely Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Iran. If the five countries can reach an agreement on the division of rights and interests in the Caspian Sea, the waters of the Caspian Sea will reach 30%, the largest of the five countries, and the oil reserves will also be at the top of the list. According to materials published by the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy, the total oil reserves of the Caspian Sea are about 1010-109.6 billion barrels, accounting for about half of the total Caspian Sea reserves, and the total natural gas reserves are 153.3 trillion cubic meters, accounting for about 1 of the total reserves. / 3.

(2) Coal mine. The coal reserves of Kazakhstan are 176.7 billion tons, ranking behind China, the United States, Russia, Australia, India, South Africa and Ukraine, ranking eighth in the world, accounting for 4% of the world ’s total reserves. There are 100 coal fields that have been proved and mined, most of which are distributed in central Kazakhstan (Karaganda, Ekibastuz, and Shubalkori coal fields), northern (Turgai coal fields) and East Kazakhstan.

(3) Uranium. Kazakhstan ’s reserves are very rich, with proven reserves of about 1.5 million tons, with total reserves accounting for 19% of global reserves, ranking second in the world. Uranium mines are mainly concentrated in the Saresu River uranium mine area in the south of Kazakhstan, the Syr River uranium mine area (more than 70% of Kazakh total reserves) and the northern uranium mine area (accounting for about 17% of the total reserves). There are more than 55 mines. The hydrogeological conditions of the Harbin Uranium Mine are very good and the mining cost is low. More than 90% of the uranium mines currently being mined are mined using low-cost methods of underground leaching.



(4) Gold. The proven reserves of Kazakh gold are about 1900 tons, ranking 8th in the world, and accounting for 3-4% of global gold reserves. There are 20 gold mining areas in Kazakhstan, mainly distributed in northern, eastern, and southeastern Kazakhstan. From the perspective of the types of gold mines, a single gold mine accounts for about 68% of the total reserves, and the rest are symbiotic mines. However, 2/3 of the current national gold production comes from symbiotic mines, which are extracted during the processing of zinc and copper. Kazakhstan's gold production ranks among the top 20 in the world.



(5) Copper. The proven reserves of the Kazakh Copper Mine are 34.5 million tons, accounting for 5.5% of the world ’s reserves, ranking fourth in Chile, Indonesia, and the United States. Kazakhstan has discovered 93 copper mines, more than half of which are in the mining stage. There are 11 large-scale copper mining companies in the country, two of which are foreign companies. The top two companies are Harbin Copper Corporation and Harbin Aluminum Corporation.



(6) Lead and zinc. Kazakhstan's proven lead reserves are 11.7 million tons, accounting for 10.1% of the world's total reserves, ranking sixth in Russia, Canada, Australia, the United States, and China. Kazakhstan has proven zinc reserves of 25.7 million tons, accounting for 9.5% of the world ’s reserves, ranking fourth after Australia, the United States, and Russia. There are currently more than 3,000 lead-zinc mines discovered in Kazakhstan, mainly concentrated in Central Kazakhstan, South Kazakhstan, and East Kazakhstan.



(7) Bauxite. Kazakhstan has proven 450 million tons of bauxite reserves, ranking 10th in the world, after Guinea, Australia, Jamaica, Brazil, India, China, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Kazakh bauxite is rich in reserves. It can be mined for 90 years based on 5 million tons of mining per year.



(8) Nickel and cobalt. According to the proven reserves, Kazakh nickel and cobalt reserves rank 12th and 7th in the world, respectively. There are 39 nickel mines and 55 cobalt mines nationwide.



(9) Manganese. The total reserves of Kazakh manganese ore resources exceed 600 million tons, ranking fourth in the world, after South Africa, Ukraine, and Gabon, all concentrated in Karaganda.



(10) Iron. The proven reserves are 9.1 billion tons, ranking 6th in the world, and the top 5 are Russia, Australia, Ukraine, China, and Brazil. Harbin iron ore is a rich ore, the content of iron concentrate can reach about 65%. Kazakh geologists predict that its prospective reserves are 15 billion tons, of which about 60% are rich ore and easy to be processed.



(11) Chromite. Reserves rank second in the world, second only to South Africa. There are currently 20 chromium ore proved in Kazakhstan, with total reserves exceeding 400 million tons, accounting for 1/3 of the world's total reserves. Almost all of them are concentrated in Hromtau, Aktobe (meaning "Chrome Mountain").



(12) Tungsten. Tungsten ore reserves are 2 million tons, ranking first in the world, accounting for 50% of global reserves. Harbinite is mainly concentrated in 12 mining areas in central Karaganda and southeast, and it is mostly tungsten-molybdenum symbiotic ore. The largest tungsten mine is the Upper Kailacte Mine, located about 100 kilometers east of Atasu in Karaganda.



[River] Kazakhstan has more than 11,000 large and small rivers, most of which are inland rivers and seasonal streams. The main rivers are the Syr, Ural, Enba, Yili, and Irtysh Rivers, of which the Yili and Ertyes Rivers are connected to Xinjiang, China. The largest amount of water is the Irtysh River, with a total length of 4,248 kilometers and 1,700 kilometers in Kazakhstan. This is followed by the Ishim River, with a total length of 2,450 kilometers and about 1,400 kilometers in Kazakhstan. Other large rivers include the Ural River, with a total length of 2,428 kilometers and 1082 kilometers in Kazakhstan; the Syr River, with a total length of 2,219 kilometers and 1,400 kilometers in Kazakhstan; and the Yili River, with a total length of 1,001 kilometers and in Kazakhstan 815 kilometers; Chu River, 1186 kilometers long, 800 kilometers in Kazakhstan; Tobol River, 1591 kilometers long, 800 kilometers in Kazakhstan; Nura River, 978 kilometers long. Many rivers in Kazakhstan have water only during the snow-melting season and dry up in summer. Although Kazakhstan has many rivers, it is still a water-scarce country.

Lakes

 Kazakhstan has more than 48,000 lakes, ponds, and reservoirs with more than 1 hectare of water, with a total area of more than 45,000 square kilometers. It does not include part of the surface area of the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea belonging to the country. The area of the Caspian Sea is 374,000 square kilometers, part of which belongs to Kazakhstan, and other affiliated countries are Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Russia. Because the Caspian Sea is rich in oil resources, the countries around the Caspian Sea do not want to lose their own resources. Therefore, there has been a debate about whether the Caspian Sea is a "lake" or a "sea", and no consensus has been reached so far. The Aral Sea covers an area of   46,600 square kilometers, part of which belongs to Kazakhstan, and the other part belongs to Uzbekistan. In addition, the larger lakes are Balkhash Lake, 18,200 square kilometers; Ala Lake, 2650 square kilometers; Tianjizi Lake, 1162 square kilometers; Shelett Tianzizi Lake, 750.3 square kilometers; 736 square kilometers; Kushmulun Lake 460.1 square kilometers; Marka Lake, 455 square kilometers; Sarelipa Lake, 336 square kilometers. Balkhash Lake is one of the very few lakes in the world that has half of the salty and freshwater.

Glacier

 Kazakhstan also has alpine glaciers. They are one of the important freshwater sources in southeastern Kazakhstan. There are more than 2,700 glaciers. Famous glaciers include Korzhnevsky Glacier, Berg Glacier, and Abai Glacier. Due to the warming of the earth's climate, the area of glaciers has dropped sharply.

(2) Macroeconomic conditions

Over the years, in a good investment environment, a large number of foreign investors have not only expanded the scale of investment in Kazakhstan, but also entered the relevant economic field, providing the necessary funds for the development of Kazakhstan's non-energy field.

1. Macroeconomic situation

Economic growth rate

 Kazakhstan ’s economic growth rate was 7.5% in 2011, 5.0% in 2012, 6% in 2013, 4.3% in 2014, and 1.2% in 2015.
[Industrial Structure] In 2015, the added value of Kazakhstan ’s primary, secondary, and tertiary industries accounted for 6.9%, 36.3%, and 56.8% of GDP, respectively.

Financial Revenue

 Fiscal revenue in 2015 was 6.2 trillion tenge, an increase of 4.4% year-on-year, and 105.6% of the implemented annual budget. Fiscal expenditure was 7.2 trillion tenge, an increase of 1.3% year-on-year, accounting for 99.8% of the budget. The deficit is 1.25 trillion tenge, accounting for 3% of GDP.

Inflation rate

 In 2015, inflation reached 13.6%, food commodities rose 10.9%, non-food commodities rose 22.6%, and paid services rose 8.1%.

Unemployment rate

 The unemployment rate in Kazakhstan was 5.1% in 2015. As of the end of December, the number of unemployed persons registered in employment agencies was 34,600, accounting for 0.4% of the economically active population. The population of Kazakhstan exceeds 17.6 million.

Internal debt

 level In 2015, Kazakh domestic debt was 43193 billion tenge (19.48 billion US dollars).

External Debt

 Level In 2015, Kazakhstan ’s external debt was US $ 153.5 billion, down 2.5% year-on-year. Sovereign external debt was US $ 12.86 billion, accounting for 8.4% and 7% of GDP in that year. Non-sovereign external debt was US $ 140.6 billion. Among them, corporate external debt was 81.84 billion US dollars, accounting for 53.3%. Short-term external debt was 6.45 billion US dollars, and long-term external debt was 147 billion US dollars. The main sources of external debt are the Netherlands (43.321 billion US dollars), the United Kingdom (24.96 billion US dollars), China (13.25 billion US dollars), and the United States (12.48 billion US dollars). Kazakhstan ’s external debt level is low and is not restricted by the International Monetary Fund.



[International Rating] As of March 11, 2016, the international rating agency S & P rated Kazakhstan ’s sovereign credit rating as BBB- / A-3, with a negative outlook. As of April 22, 2016, the international rating agency Moody's rated Kazakhstan's sovereign credit as Baa3, with a negative outlook. As of April 29, 2016, Fitch, an international rating agency, rated Kazakhstan's sovereign credit rating as BBB / F2, with a stable outlook.

2. Key/characteristic industries

Mining Industry 

The Mining industry is the pillar industry of Kazakhstan's national economy. In 2015, the total value of the mining industry in Kazakhstan was US $ 24.39 billion, accounting for 52% of the total industrial output value. Among them, the oil and gas mining industry is one of the main industries. In 2015, 57.807 million tons of crude oil was extracted, 12.935 million tons of condensate oil was extracted, and 42.922 billion cubic meters of natural gas were extracted. The export of various mineral products was US $ 32.76 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 48.7%. Oil production enterprises are mainly concentrated in 5 states in southwestern Kazakhstan. The largest foreign oil producer in Kazakhstan is the American company "Tianjizi-Chevron", which produced 27.16 million tons (217 million barrels) of oil in 2015, a year-on-year increase of 1.7%. It accounts for 46.9% of the total crude oil production in Kazakhstan. The largest oil company in Kazakhstan is "Kazakh National Oil and Gas Corporation (Ka3MyHavFa3)". In 2015, it extracted 22.67 million tons of oil, a year-on-year increase of 0.8%, accounting for 39.2% of its oil production. At present, almost all well-known oil companies in the world, including China's three major oil companies (PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC) have entered the Kazakhstan oil exploration field. The second is the mining industry of solid mineral resources. The mining of non-ferrous metals such as copper, zinc, and aluminum is mainly concentrated in the southern, northern, and central and western regions of Kazakhstan, the coal industry is mainly in the central Pavlodar region, and the development of uranium mines is in the southern and northern regions.

Processing Industry

 Kazakhstan's processing industry mainly includes petroleum processing and petrochemical industry, light textile industry, building materials, household appliances and automobile manufacturing, machinery equipment, and ferrous and non-ferrous metal materials production, as well as tobacco, alcohol and food and pharmaceutical industries. In recent years, it has developed rapidly, and the output value has grown from US $ 6.8 billion in 2001 to US $ 18.8 billion in 2015. The output value in 2015 increased by 0.2% over the previous year, accounting for about 40% of the total industrial output value. In the field of petroleum processing, there are currently three large refineries in Kazakhstan, namely Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant, Atyrau Refinery, and Simkent Refinery. The total refinery capacity of the three plants is 14.5 million tons (primary processing). The product complies with Euro-2 environmental protection standards (Kazakhstan ’s 2010 emission standards for hazardous substances (pollutants) from vehicles).

In recent years, Kazakhstan has vigorously developed automobile assembly. The largest automobile manufacturer is Yazhou Automobile, located in Ust-Kamenogorsk, East Kazakhstan, which accounts for 86% of Kazakhstan ’s domestic auto assembly company ’s auto production. It is in partnership with Volkswagen Group, General Motors, Renault, Kia, Nissan A number of large international automobile manufacturers have cooperated to assemble 16 models including Skoda, Chevrolet, Kia, and Lada. Secondly, the automobile industry holding company, belonging to the Allur Group, is the second-largest light vehicle assembly company in Kazakhstan. It mainly assembles Ssangyong cars, Chance cars, and some agricultural machinery products. At present, the annual assembly capacity of cars can reach 25,000 vehicles.

Construction

 In 2015, the output value of Kazakhstan ’s construction industry was US $ 12.92 billion, an increase of 7% over the previous year.

Agriculture

Kazakhstan has a large land area and a sparse population. The country ’s arable land area exceeds 20 million hectares. The annual crop planting area is about 16-18 million hectares, and the grain output is about 18 million tons. The main crops include wheat (accounting for about 90% of the output of food crops), corn, barley, oats, and rye. The main grain-producing areas (90% of production) are in the northern Kostanay, Northern Kazakhstan, and Akmora regions. Rice, cotton, tobacco, sugar beet, grapes, and fruits can be grown in parts of the south. The agricultural output value in 2015 was US $ 12.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%. Among the agricultural output value, the plantation output value is 1.5 trillion tenge (about 6.67 billion US dollars), an increase of 5.6% year-on-year, accounting for 53.8%; the livestock industry output value is 1.3 trillion tenge (about 5.69 billion US dollars), an increase of 3.2% year-on-year Than 45.9%. In 2015, Kazakhstan ’s grain and pulse output was 18.673 million tons, an increase of 9.7%; vegetable output was 3.564 million tons, an increase of 2.7%; potato output was 3.521 million tons, an increase of 3.2%; oil crop output was 15.417 million tons, the same as above The year is basically flat. 60.617 million heads of cattle were raised, an increase of 0.6% year-on-year; 2.311 million heads of goats, an increase of 2.9%; 861,000 heads of pigs, an increase of 2.7%; 15.481 million heads of sheep, an increase of 0.4%; 1.894 million horses, an increase of 2.4%; and 36.635 million birds Only, an increase of 4.7%.

Service Industry

 The output value of Kazakhstan's service industry accounts for a higher proportion of GDP than commodity production. In 2015, the added value of Kazakhstan ’s service industry was 23.2 trillion tenge, approximately US $ 104.65 billion, accounting for 56.8% of Kazakhstan ’s GDP.

3. Domestic market

Total Sales

According to the figures released by the Kazakhstan National Statistical Office, the total amount of Kazakhstan's social retail commodities in 2015 was 6.3 trillion tenge, or about 28.7 billion US dollars, down 0.4% year-on-year. The total amount of social wholesale commodities was 16.4 trillion tenge, or US $ 73.94 billion, which was the same as the previous year.

Living Expenses

Kazakhstan's national income level continues to increase. In 1996, one-third of the country ’s population lived below the minimum standard of living. In 2010, this proportion had dropped to 5.1%. The gap between rich and poor is further narrowing, and the income gap between urban 10% high-income households and 10% of low-income households is declining year by year. The index Gini coefficient, which reflects this gap, has dropped from 0.336 in 2001 to 0.278 in 2015. It shows that the distribution of wealth among the people is becoming more and more reasonable.



The purchasing power of Kazakhstan's nationals has exceeded the level of middle developed countries. Over the past decade, the living standards of Kazakhstan ’s national population have been continuously improved, with average food consumption falling by 5.2% and potatoes by 28%. During the same period, meat and meat products consumption increased by 15%, fish and seafood consumption nearly doubled, and eggs increased. 43%, vegetable oil and fat increased by 25%, candy increased by 50%, fruits increased by nearly 3 times, and vegetable consumption also increased significantly. In December 2015, Kazakhstan ’s lowest cost of living was 19,816 tenge, an increase of 1.6% month-on-month, and 5.6% year-on-year. Among them, food consumption accounted for a relatively large amount, 11890 tenge. Non-food and service expenditures are 7926 tenge. The minimum living standard for children under the age of 13 is 16028 tenge, for children aged 14-17 is 25039 tenge, for girls aged 14-17 is 19187 tenge, for an adult male is 23541 tenge, for an adult female is 18690 tenge, for retired and elderly 18552 tenge. In 2015, the national average salary in Kazakhstan was US $ 700.

(3) Investment environment in Kazakhstan

The Kazakh government attaches great importance to attracting foreign investment.

1. Investment attractiveness

Kazakhstan is the country with the fastest economic development, a relatively stable political situation, and a relatively good social order in Central Asia. It has rich mineral resources such as oil, natural gas, coal, and non-ferrous metals. It has a good agricultural foundation and a wide range of pastures suitable for animal husbandry development. The ecological condition is excellent, the geographical position is superior, and the human conditions are better than other Central Asian countries.



Since independence, Kazakhstan has adhered to a policy of actively attracting foreign investment and has strengthened relevant legislative work. In 1997, Kazakhstan promulgated the "List of Priority Economic Areas for Kazakhstan to Attract Foreign Direct Investment" and the "Preferential Policies for Signing Contracts with Investors". In recent years, it has successfully passed many laws and regulations such as the "National Supported Direct Investment Law", which has provided various guarantees to investors. In addition, Kazakhstan approved the 1985 Busan Convention, which founded the Investment Protection Multilateral Association, and the 1997 Moscow Convention, which guarantees investor rights. Kazakhstan has joined the Convention for the Coordination of Investment Disputes between the State and natural or legal persons (ICSID), and has signed bilateral agreements to protect investment with the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Russia, and other countries. In June 2015, Kazakhstan signed an agreement to establish an Asian infrastructure investment bank as a founding member. In December 2015, Kazakhstan became the 162nd official member state of the World Trade Organization. Kazakhstan ’s laws provide that approved international agreements take precedence over national laws. If the rules in the approved international agreement are different from the principles in national law, the principles in the international agreement will be accepted

 In April 2003, Kazakhstan promulgated a new "Investment Law". Investment legislation has played a positive role in attracting foreign investment. In 2009, President Nazarbayev delivered a speech stating that he has consistently adhered to the investment opening policy, encouraged foreign investors to increase investment and broaden investment fields, and promoted the diversified development of Kazakhstan's economy. Emphasize that reinvestment in the current situation is beneficial to both Kazakhstan and foreign investors. Reinvestment allows Kazakhstan to obtain more funds, which is conducive to achieving the goal of economic diversification. For foreign investors, since Kazakhstan began implementing plans to increase the share of products and services purchased by domestic companies, reinvestment can create profit opportunities. At the same time, it will create the necessary conditions for the reinvestment of the profits of foreign investors. The government will also take measures to increase the transparency of the operations of domestic companies, improve corporate auditing and management, enhance the competitiveness of enterprises, and increase the attractiveness of domestic enterprises to foreign investment. Kazakhstan also encourages foreign investors to invest in fields such as processing and manufacturing, agriculture, and renewable energy. At present, Kazakhstan hopes that foreign investors will reinvest in the new technology, processing, and service fields of small and medium-sized enterprises in Kazakhstan. At the same time, they hope that foreign investors will change their investment concepts and focus on basic areas (such as agriculture) and new economic fields such as renewable energy. Investment potential.



On June 12, 2014, President Nazarbayev held the 27th meeting of the Council of Foreign Investors under the President and signed on the spot the "Republic of Kazakhstan's amendments and supplements to some laws and regulations on improving the investment environment The "Law of the People's Republic of China" has made major adjustments to the policy of attracting foreign investment, aiming to further improve the investment environment and encourage investment in priority economic areas. The scale and scope of this adjustment are the strongest in the calendar year.



The laws of Kazakhstan are relatively sound. Economic, social, and other fields have a relatively complete legal basis, but due to the short independence time, some laws and regulations have been made in a hurry. With the rapid economic and social development, the adjustment of laws and regulations is also frequent. Kazakhstan ’s “e-government” is developing rapidly. The government has implemented many permits and government permits online, which improves efficiency and facilitates the masses.



In the World Bank's "Business Environment Report 2016" ranking, Kazakhstan ranks 41st among 189 economies. According to the 2015-2016 Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum, Kazakhstan ranks 42nd among the 140 most competitive countries and regions in the world and belongs to a country with a relatively free economy.

2. Absorb foreign investment

Investment Scale

 After independence, in order to develop its own economy, Kazakhstan has been committed to attracting foreign investment. At the same time, the open market economy and abundant natural mineral resources have also attracted foreign capital to the flock. According to statistics released by the Central Bank of Kazakhstan, from 1993 to 2015, Kazakhstan attracted foreign direct investment flows totaling US $ 228.698 billion over the years, making it one of the countries in the CIS that attracted the most foreign investment.


According to statistics released by the Central Bank of Kazakhstan, as of the end of 2015, the stock of foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan was US $ 119.833 billion, and the stock of Chinese direct investment in Kazakhstan was US $ 2.85 billion.

Distribution of major foreign sources by country

According to the statistics of the Central Bank of Kazakhstan, as of December 31, 2015, the top ten countries/regions with direct investment in Kazakhstan accounted for 92.67% of foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan. Among them, the country with the largest direct investment stock in Kazakhstan is the Netherlands, with a total value of US $ 60.02 billion, accounting for 50.1%. Other countries and regions with more direct investment include the United States, Japan, China, and the United Kingdom. China ranks sixth on the list of foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan.

3. Investment department

The Ministry of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan is the competent investment authority of Kazakhstan. The Ministry of Investment has an investment committee with the main responsibility for implementing national policies on protection, support, and supervision of investment activities. The committee is responsible for accepting and registering investors ’applications for preferential treatment, deciding whether to grant their investment preference, and is responsible for signing, registering, or annulling contracts with investors to provide their investment preference, and supervising the implementation of relevant preferential policies.



Kazakhstan promulgated a new "Investment Law" in 2003, which formulated the government's management procedures and incentives for domestic and foreign investment. According to the new "Investment Law", the state has no special preferences for foreign investment, and domestic and foreign investment are treated equally.



According to the 2016 "World Investment Report" released by UNCTAD, in 2015, Kazakhstan's foreign investment flow was US $ 4.021 billion; by the end of 2015, Kazakhstan's foreign investment stock was US $ 119.833 billion.

4. Labor supply and demand and wages

[Labour Supply and Demand] As of December 2015, the economically active population of Kazakhstan was 8.618 million. Kazakhstan's labor market has two characteristics, one is the lack of senior talents, and the other is that no one is willing to engage in simple manual labor with low income. As a result, a large number of temporary or seasonal workers are recruited from neighboring countries such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to engage in low-skilled labor such as agriculture, construction, and urban cleaning. During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, hundreds of thousands of foreign workers were stranded in Kazakhstan and sold their labor at lower prices, which had a great impact on the local job market. To this end, the Ministry of Labor of Kazakhstan reduced the number of foreign labor service quotas. According to estimates by the Ministry of Labor of Kazakhstan, by 2015, the labor gap in Kazakhstan will be approximately 500,000, or about 60,000 per year. In July 2015, the unemployment rate in Kazakhstan was 4.9%, and the number of unemployed was 445,000. At the end of July, the number of unemployed persons registered with employment agencies was 62,200, accounting for 0.7% of the economically active population.

Workforce Quality

 From the perspective of the overall quality of laborers, Kazakhstan ’s industrial workers have high personal qualities, abide by discipline and basic ethics, work seriously, but have low professional skills, low efficiency, high mobility, Problems such as too rigid. In recent years, Kazakhstan's economic development needs a large number of talents, but the lack of professional and technical personnel and high-quality talents has not been improved. Not only do some excellent enterprises in Kazakhstan urgently need highly qualified personnel and professional and technical personnel, but foreign companies in Kazakhstan also need to recruit a large number of local employees with labor skills and professional qualities. It can be said that in the domestic labor market of Kazakhstan, employers have a strong demand for highly qualified employees with professional skills. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Labor of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan still has a large demand for senior professionals in the next few years, including engineering and technical personnel, IT personnel, accounting, marketing managers, medical staff and teachers.

Salary

 According to the data released by the Kazakh National Statistics Office, as of December 2015, the nominal wage per capita in Kazakhstan was 13,6094 tenge, an increase of 3.8% compared with the same period last year. Among them, the mining industry salary is 269,300 tenge (2.2 times the domestic average wage, the same below), the technology industry is 242,600 tenge (1.9 times), the financial and insurance industry is 233,500 tenge (1.9 times), and the information and communication industry is 171,800 Tenge (1.4 times), transportation and warehousing industry 165,900 tenge (1.3 times), education industry 73,000 tenge, agriculture, forestry, and fishery 76,300 tenge. The average nominal company in Atyrau region is 302,200 tenge (1.8 times the national average nominal salary), and in Siha State is 83,900 tenge. Regions with higher incomes include Atyrau, Mangstau, Astana, and Almaty. Regions with lower incomes include North Kazakhstan, Jambur, South Kazakhstan, and Akmora.

5. Social security

Social security in Kazakhstan is generally stable, and residents have a sense of security in life. Kazakhstan law stipulates that residents can legally hold firearms. In recent years, terrorist incidents have occurred from time to time, and there are illegal religious extremist organizations. According to statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), there were 1,358 attacks in Kazakhstan in 2013 with a rate of 8.3 per 100,000 people; there were 18,929 cases of robbery with a rate of 114.5 per 100,000 people, and kidnapping cases 107 The rate was 0.7 per 100,000 people; there were 1273 murder cases and 7.80 per 100,000 people. According to Kazakh statistics, in 2014, there were 314,400 criminal cases nationwide, with a crime rate of 2.11%, a year-on-year decrease of 4.9%. The economic losses caused exceeded 96.535 billion tenge, of which 32.7% of the losses were economic crimes and 51.5% were crimes of infringement of personal property. Cases of intentional homicide and attempted homicide fell by 10.2%, robbery fell by 32.9%, drug crime fell by 8.9%, theft rose by 2.1%, fraud by 2.1%, and rogue crime by 14.1%. Among them, 1/6 of the perpetrators are drunk, 1/5 are members of the gang, and 79.7% are unemployed. In terms of regions, the crime rate in the capital Astana is higher than the national average. Other regions with faster crime rates include Aktobe, Oblast, Zambore, Mangstau, Almaty, Pavlodar region.

(4) Kazakhstan financial environment

1. Local currency

Kazakhstan began issuing tenge, the national currency, on November 15, 1993, including banknotes and coins with a face value ranging from 1 to 10,000. Kazakhstan has realized the free exchange of local and foreign currencies in 1999. As of March 31, 2016, the tenge to US dollar exchange rate was 343.30: 1 and the euro exchange rate was 388.44: 1. The Central Bank of Kazakhstan announced that since August 20, 2015, the exchange rate fluctuation limit will be lifted and the tenge free-floating exchange rate will be implemented. Subsequently, the tenge to the dollar exchange rate will depreciate from 197: 1 to 256: 1, a depreciation of 30%. In September 2013, Bank of China officially launched and listed the exchange rate of Renminbi against Jiange cash in Xinjiang, and took the lead in the same industry to handle the tenge cash exchange business under the direct exchange rate. Some exchange points in major cities of Kazakhstan can exchange RMB.

2. Foreign exchange management

Kazakhstan ’s current account and capital account are conditionally freely convertible. Specifically, the transaction under the current account should be completed within 180 days, and if it cannot be completed due, it can be postponed. Under capital, as long as both parties have an agreement, capital can enter and exit freely after certain procedures.



From July 1, 2007, Kazakhstan's foreign exchange management system implements European national standards, cancels the foreign exchange business license system, and implements a notification system. After paying various taxes payable, the enterprise can remit profits freely, in addition to the necessary remittance fees charged by the bank, there is no need to pay other fees. Both individuals and legal persons can export their legal foreign exchange income to foreign countries through banks, but they must provide the following proofs: individual-exchange water bill, source of income certificate, acceptance of gift or inheritance certificate from abroad, foreign exchange import declaration. Legal person-trade contract, proof of payment of relevant taxes. Individuals and legal persons must have tax registration numbers when opening accounts, handling deposits, remittances, and other businesses in banks.



On March 9, 2010, Kazakhstan began to implement the Anti-Money Laundering Law, which strengthened the supervision of foreign exchange flows by banks. Any financial business that exceeds US $ 10,000 will be regulated, including businesses like individuals who exchange foreign currency at foreign currency exchange points. In addition, banks are required to improve customer information and strengthen the declaration of foreign exchange remittances. If an account remits more than 7 million tenge (about US $ 50,000) within 7 working days, the bank must report to the Financial Supervision Commission.



In January 2012, the President of Kazakhstan Nazarbayev issued the "Amendment Act on Certain Laws on Foreign Exchange Regulation." It stipulates that natural persons entering and leaving Kazakhstan of the Customs Union members carry foreign currency and/or cash in their national currencies (excluding precious metal coins) with a total value of more than US $ 10,000, including traveler's checks, without the need to declare to customs. In this case, natural persons in other countries must declare in full, and must also indicate the source and purpose.
In addition, natural persons entering or leaving Kazakhstan in any country carry foreign exchange and/or local currency cash (excluding precious metal coins) with a total value equivalent to or not exceeding US $ 10,000 (excluding precious metal coins), including traveler's checks, without declaration to the customs. Previously, the limit was $ 3,000. The Central Bank of Kazakhstan stipulates that from February 1, 2016, if the tenge purchase and sale of foreign exchange business is carried out at the exchange points authorized by the relevant banks and institutions, the difference range will increase-the dollar is 6 tenge, the euro is 7 Tenge.

 3. Savings and prices

Savings

 Kazakhs are not strong in saving and like to spend in advance. Before 2013, most of the residents' income was invested in buying cars and houses. In recent years, affected by the macroeconomy, people's income has declined, investment channels have decreased, some residents have started to save money, and the amount of private deposits in financial institutions has grown rapidly. In 1993, resident bank deposits totaled 607 million tenge, in 2010 it reached 2.195 trillion tenge (about 15 billion US dollars), and in 2014 it reached 11.694 trillion tenge (about 63.1 billion US dollars). In 2015, affected by the depreciation of the local currency, residents' foreign currency deposits increased. Tenge deposits were 4.952 trillion tenge, and foreign currency deposits were 11.0185 trillion tenge, a decrease of 4.8%, and an increase of 69.6% compared to 2014.

Price level

The price of Kazakhstan is much higher than in other countries in Central Asia. This aspect is related to the backwardness of the civilian industry and the need for more imports of products. On the other hand, it is also related to the higher per capita income and higher labor prices than other Central Asian countries. In addition, there is also a factor that there are many commercial intermediate links. When the goods reach the end-user, there is a gap of several times compared with the ex-factory price or the import price. Generally speaking, melons, fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, milk, consumer goods, home appliances, clothing, etc. are more than half the price of China, or even several times higher. Imported luxury goods such as tobacco, alcohol, watches, cosmetics, and automobiles are relatively cheap.

(5) Kazakhstan's economic and trade environment

Kazakhstan has established trade relations with more than 190 countries and regions.

Trade Volume

 Since 2000, Kazakhstan's foreign trade volume has been increasing at an annual rate of more than 30%. In 2015, affected by the decline in international commodity prices, Kazakhstan ’s foreign trade situation deteriorated, with a total foreign trade of US $ 75.91 billion, down 37.1% year-on-year, of which exports were US $ 45.73 billion, down 42.5% year-on-year; imports were US $ 30.19 billion, down 26.9% year-on-year. The foreign trade surplus was US $ 15.54 billion, a decrease of US $ 21.46 billion compared with 2013.

 Main trading partners Kazakhstan ’s

 The main trading partners are Russia, China, and Italy, and the trade volume with the three countries accounts for 45.4% of Kazakhstan ’s total foreign trade. In 2015, the proportion of Kazakhstan's exports to Italy fell slightly to 17.8%, and the proportion of exports to China, the Netherlands, and Russia fell to 12%, 10.9%, and 9.5%, respectively. Although exports to Russia have declined, imports from Russia account for about one-third of Kazakhstan ’s total imports, and imports from China account for 16.8%. Except for Russia and China, imports from Germany and the United States accounted for 6.6% and 4.7%, respectively.

Commodity Structure

 The main commodities exported by Kazakhstan in 2015 were: exports of energy and mineral products were the US $ 32.76 billion, accounting for 71.6% of total exports, of which exports of fuel and energy commodities were the US $ 31.11 billion, accounting for 68.0% of exports The export value of metals and their products is about the US $ 6.01 billion, accounting for 13.1% of the total exports; the export value of chemical products, plastics and rubber is the US $ 3.26 billion, accounting for 7.1%; the export value of animal and plant products and food is the US $ 210 million, The proportion is 4.5%; the export value of machinery, equipment, transportation, instruments, and meters is 610 million US dollars, accounting for 1.3%; the other exports are 7.50 US dollars, accounting for 1.9%. The main commodities imported by Kazakhstan are: machinery equipment, transportation, and instrumentation products imports amounted to US $ 12.24 billion, accounting for 40.6% of the total imports; chemical and related industry products imports amounted to US $ 4.51 billion, accounting for 14.9%; metals The import value of its products was 3.99 billion US dollars, accounting for 13.2% of the total imports; the import value of energy and mineral products was 2.30 billion US dollars, accounting for 7.6%; the imports of animal and plant products and food were 3.37 billion US dollars, accounting for 11.1%; The import of other products is USD 11.6, accounting for 4.1% of the total import value.

Radiation Market

 As of the end of 2015, Kazakhstan is a member of the following regions and international organizations: CIS, Eurasian Economic Community, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Central Asia, and West Asia Economic Cooperation Organization, etc. Under the framework of these regions and international organizations, the trade agreements signed by Kazakhstan include: "Treaty of the CIS Economic Union", "Treaty for the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community", "Agreement on the Implementation of Uniform Tariffs within the Eurasian Economic Community" , "Central Asia and Western Asia Economic Cooperation Organization Agreement on the Establishment of Free Trade Areas", "Development Action Plan of the CIS to 2005", "Unified Economic Space Agreement", "Transit Trade Agreement", "Transit Transport Framework Agreement" , "Protocol of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on the Basic Goals and Directions of Regional Economic Cooperation and the Facilitation of Trade and Investment Facilitation Process", "The Outline of Multilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation among the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization", and "Shanghai Cooperation Organize the Outline of Multilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation of Member States> Implementation Measures Plan, etc.



On November 27, 2009, Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan signed the Customs Union Customs Code, marking the official establishment of the "Russia-Belarus" customs union. Since January 1, 2010, the three countries have implemented a unified tax rate (some goods have a transition period); from April 1, 2011, Russia and Belarus will be the first to cancel the border; from July 1, 2011, Russia and Kazakhstan Stan canceled the border. Since January 1, 2012, it has gradually become a population with 170 million people, oil reserves of 90 billion barrels, total GDP of 2 trillion US dollars, the industrial output value of 600 billion US dollars, the agricultural output value of 112 billion US dollars, and wheat production accounts for 12 %, A unified economy with exports accounting for 17% and a turnover of commodities of US $ 900 billion.



On May 29, 2014, the President of Kazakhstan and the Presidents of Russia and Belarus signed the "Eurasian Economic Union Treaty" in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, announcing that the Eurasian Economic Union will be officially launched on January 1, 2015. According to the treaty, the three countries of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will realize the free flow of goods, services, capital and labor by 2025. The ultimate goal is to establish an economic union similar to the European Union and form a unified market with a population of 170 million. In June 2015, Kazakhstan signed an agreement to establish an Asian infrastructure investment bank as a founding member. On July 27, 2015, the General Council of the World Trade Organization formally approved Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO, and Kazakhstan became an official member of the World Trade Organization in December. After entering the WTO, the medium-term benefit rate of Kazakhstan's economy is expected to be 6.7% (3.7% of GDP) and the forward rate of return is 17.5% (9.7% of GDP).

3. Trade authorities



The Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan is the competent department in charge of trade management and economic development planning in Kazakhstan. Its responsibilities include: advancing, adjusting, monitoring and evaluating economic strategic development plans, predicting social and economic development, and monitoring and analyzing national macroeconomic indicators, Formulate taxation, fiscal and customs policies, forecast and prepare national budgets, make recommendations on the formulation of trade protection, anti-dumping and countervailing measures, issue commodity import licenses within its jurisdiction, initiate and organize domestic and international exhibitions, exhibitions and trade delegations To implement the government's support for private enterprise development policies and public investment planning.

4. Trade regulations system

Kazakhstan ’s laws in the field of trade mainly include the "Business Registration Law", "Labor Code", "Tax Code", "Foreign Exchange Regulation Law", "License Law", "Anti-dumping Law", "Intellectual Property Law", "Bank He Banking Law, Investment Law, Customs Code, Financial Leasing Law, Resident Employment Law, Trademark, Service Mark and Appellation of Origin Law, National Direct Investment Protection Law, etc.



Kazakhstan and Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan form the Eurasian Economic Union. Kazakhstan and the European Union, Australia, the Nordic countries, Canada, the United States, Japan, and China give each other the most-favored-nation treatment. Canada, the European Union, Australia, and the United States impose a GSP on Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan follows the practice of the former Soviet Union and grants preferential treatment to imported products from developing countries in accordance with the principle of GSP.

5. Trade management regulations

Import and Export Management System

Kazakhstan has completely liberalized its trading rights, and all-natural and legal persons can engage in foreign trade activities. Except for 11 types of products, such as weapons, ammunition, and medicines, which are restricted from imports, the rest of the products can be imported freely, and are not subject to quotas and license restrictions.

License Management

In June 2008, the Kazakhstan government published the "List of Approved Implementation of the Import and Export Commodity Licensing System, including Export Commodity Control and Import Automatic License, gunpowder and explosives, rare metals, precious metals, nuclear raw materials, processes, equipment, devices and a, p, Y radioactive sources, plant origin and animals Original pharmaceutical raw materials, toxic substances, special technical equipment and items for investigation, medical see-through devices, password-protected data and documents, opium raw materials, white phosphorus, white spirit, pesticides, industrial waste, alcohol semi-finished products, ethanol, malt beer , White wine, wine, brandy, horns, and commodities on the export supervision list set out in Government Order No. 104 of February 5, 2008.

Import Tax System

Since January 1, 2010, the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan has begun operation, and a unified import tariff rate has been implemented. Since then, the import tax system of Kazakhstan will be unified under the framework of the Customs Union, and will be levied at the import tax rate jointly established by the Union. In addition, Kazakhstan only imposes export duties on some export commodities such as petroleum, petroleum products, scrap metal, and animal skins.

Customs System

Since January 1, 2010, Russia, Belarus, and the three countries will implement a unified customs tariff rate; from July 1, 2010, a unified Customs Union Customs Code will be implemented. Starting in 2016, Eurasian Economic Union member states will also implement the new "Eurasian Economic Union Customs Code." In addition, in Kazakhstan, the Customs Code of Customs of the Republic of Kazakhstan formulated in accordance with the Customs Union Customs Code is also implemented. The Customs Union stipulates: from the date of the establishment of a unified customs border, mutual trade between member states will eliminate tariffs, restrictions on the quantity of goods, and other equivalent measures. However, it does not include safeguards, anti-dumping and countervailing measures, and prohibitive and restrictive measures for export or import to safeguard public morals, the life and health of people, animals and plants, and protect the natural environment and cultural values.

Foreign Aid

At present, Kazakhstan has changed from an international recipient to an aid recipient. The main sources of international funding are the World Bank and other international financial organizations and institutions. In 2014, Kazakhstan received US $ 34 million from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria to combat tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria. From 2012 to 2016, the EU has assisted Kazakhstan with 4.5 million euros for civil service reform. In 2015, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development provided a 65 million euro loan to Astana Light Rail for the purchase of 200 buses; and provided 3.9 billion tenge for the modernization of the water supply and drainage system in East Kazakhstan. Since 1992, the World Bank has invested more than US $ 6.8 billion in Kazakhstan. The funds are mainly used to build roads and social infrastructure in Kazakhstan, improve the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, improve the modernization of education and medical systems, optimize customs and tax systems, and environmental protection. In May 2014, the two parties signed a partnership framework agreement to jointly implement projects worth US $ 4.9 billion in 2016-2021, of which US $ 4.3 billion is planned to be financed by the World Bank. In 2016, the World Bank provided Kazakhstan with a loan of USD 2 billion to cover the current fiscal deficit.

4. Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and China 

(1) Historical relationship with China

Kazakhstan has a long history. In history, this land belonged to the Huns, Turks, Mongolia, Timur Empire, Junggar Khanate, Russia, and the former Soviet Union. Therefore, China ’s diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan are attributed to China's relationship with the above countries.



During the Han dynasty, Kazakhstan once belonged to the jurisdiction of the Western Region's capital of the Han Empire. During the Tang Dynasty, part of the territory of Kazakhstan was under the jurisdiction of the Beiting Duhu and Anxidu Hufu of the Tang Dynasty.



During the Yuan dynasty, this area was successively under the jurisdiction of the Queen's Land of Wokuotai and the King's Land of Chagatai under the Mongolian Empire.



Before the demise of the Junggar Khanate and the Russian Empire had not completely annexed Kazakhstan, part of Kazakhstan had maintained tributary relations with the Qing Dynasty.



(B) Kazakhstan's diplomatic relations with China after independence



On January 3, 1992, at the beginning of Kazakhstan ’s independent statehood, China officially established diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan, thus opening up good-neighborly and friendly relations between China and Kazakhstan.

On January 3, 1992, China established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Kazakhstan


In a friendly atmosphere between the two countries, in April 1994, the China-Kazakhstan border agreement was signed, which resolved the border issue between the two countries.



In July 1996, the two heads of state determined the good-neighborly partnership of China and Kazakhstan facing the 21st century.



In July 2005, the two heads of state signed the "China-Kazakhstan Joint Statement on the Establishment and Development of Strategic Partnership".



In June 2011, the two countries issued a "China-Kazakhstan Joint Statement on the Development of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership", which determined that China and Kazakhstan developed from a strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership.



In recent years, both China and Kazakhstan are committed to seeking to develop bilateral relations to a new level. The high-level interaction between China and Kazakhstan is frequent, and high-level meetings have brought a strong impetus to bilateral cooperation.



Since becoming president of the country, Xi Jinping has paid special attention to developing relations with Kazakhstan. He has visited Kazakhstan three times to jointly plan a beautiful blueprint for China-Kazakhstan relations with President Nazarbayev, and promote China-Kazakhstan cooperation to a higher level. In September 2013, Xi Jinping paid his first state visit to Kazakhstan. The heads of state of the two countries signed the "Joint Declaration of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan on Further Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic. Since then, the frequency of mutual visits between the two heads of state has increased. The two heads of state jointly signed the "Joint Declaration of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan" and witnessed the signing of cooperation documents in the fields of energy, investment, and financing. On May 7, 2015, Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan for the second time.



In 2015 alone, Kazakh President Nazarbayev visited China four times. At the invitation of Xi Jinping, Nazarbayev came to China for a state visit on August 31 and attended the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War and the World Anti-Fascist War on September 3. On September 1-5, 2016, Nazarbayev paid a working visit to China and attended the 11th G20 summit in Hangzhou as the head of state.



In May 2017, Nazarbayev came to China to attend the “Belt and Road” International Cooperation Summit Forum. At the roundtable meeting of the leaders of the “Belt and Road” International Cooperation Summit Forum held on the 15th, he expressed that the “Belt and Road Initiative” is a timely solution to the political, economic, and humanitarian crises facing the world this century. Its successful implementation will bring tangible benefits to the people of the world.

Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council met with the President of Kazakhstan Nazarbayev who came to China to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in the Great Hall of the People on the afternoon of May 14, 2017


While the heads of state visited each other intensively, the heads of government of the two countries also strengthened exchanges. In December 2014, Premier Li Keqiang paid an official visit to Kazakhstan. During the visit, China and Kazakhstan reached a strategic consensus on capacity cooperation based on the “Belt and Road” initiative. The two sides signed more than 30 cooperation agreements totaling US $ 14 billion. In March 2015, Kazakhstan ’s Prime Minister Masimov paid a working visit to China. China and Kazakhstan signed a memorandum to strengthen production capacity and investment cooperation, as well as the two countries to develop production capacity in a wide range of fields such as steel, nonferrous metals, flat glass, oil refining, hydropower, and automobiles 33 documents of cooperation, the total amount of the project reached 23.6 billion US dollars.



On June 7-10, 2017, during Xi Jinping's third visit to Kazakhstan, the heads of state of China and Kazakhstan jointly signed the "Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping's visit to Kazakhstan has promoted cooperation between China and Kazakhstan under the framework of the "Belt and Road". The two sides will further strengthen the construction of the New Eurasian Continental Bridge, China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor, and Kazakhstan to create a major international logistics channel Construction, international capacity cooperation and Kazakhstan's accelerated industrialization process, China's land-sea combined transport advantage and Kazakhstan's eastward shipping, "Digital Silk Road" initiative and "Digital Kazakhstan" and another strategic docking

5. Economic and trade relations between Kazakhstan and China 

(1) Historical economic and trade relations with China



On the ancient Silk Road, Kazakhstan has become an extremely important trade channel because of its geographical location in the center of Eurasia. Historically, Almaty, Simkent, and Taraz in southern Kazakhstan were once the indispensable places for the ancient Silk Road. Been here.



For a long period of time thereafter, Kazakhstan has been on an important channel of trade links between China and Central Asia and the West. The various ministries located in the borders of Kazakhstan today, most of the goods sent to China are horses, camels, and fur, while most of the goods obtained from China are silk, tea, copper coins, and porcelain.



(2) Economic and trade relations with China after the founding of Kazakhstan



China and Kazakhstan share a common border of more than 1,700 kilometers and are good neighbors, good friends, and good partners. The two countries have strong economic complementarities and great potential for cooperation. During the Western Han Dynasty in China, Zhang Qian had traveled to the Kazakh region in the Western Regions.



The frequent exchange of visits between leaders of China and Kazakhstan has injected strong momentum into the development of bilateral relations and economic and technological cooperation. 


The cooperation between Kazakhstan and China has unique geographical conditions-the common border between the two countries reaches 1,700 kilometers. China, the world's economic giant, is a major energy consumer, and Kazakhstan is a country with huge reserves of mineral resources. The Soviet Union, including Kazakhstan, experienced economic difficulties in the first year after independence. At the same time, after more than 10 years of reform and opening-up, China has begun to enter the world market. Due to geo-economic complementarities and mutual needs, both countries are eager to establish and further develop economic and trade relations. Therefore, in February 1992, the Chinese government put forward the theory of complementarity between China and Kazakhstan's economy, and the Kazakhstan government accepted this proposal.



In July 2005, China and Kazakhstan established a strategic partnership. Both sides resolved the border issue in a comprehensive and thorough manner. In 2011, the two sides announced the development of a comprehensive strategic partnership. In recent years, high-level exchanges between the two countries have been frequent, and political mutual trust has been steadily increasing. Kazakhstan has consistently supported my position on issues such as Taiwan, Tibet, and combating "East Turkistan". It has cooperated well with China within the framework of the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.



In September 2013, President Xi Jinping paid his first state visit to Kazakhstan. Road Economic Belt ", immediately received the support of President Nazarbayev.

Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan: Promoting the friendship of the people and jointly building the "Silk Road Economic Belt"


In September 2014, President Xi Jinping met with Kazakh President Nazarbayev at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Dushanbe Summit. In December 2014, Premier Li Keqiang paid an official friendly visit to Kazakhstan. Leaders of the two sides held a meeting and signed a tens of billions of dollars in cooperation agreements. In March 2015, Kazakh Prime Minister Masimov paid a working visit to China and attended the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Meeting. In May, President Xi Jinping paid a visit to Kazakhstan. In addition, the two countries have maintained good communication and coordination in international affairs. In August, Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Sagintayev came to China to hold the seventh meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee with Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli. From August 30 to September 3, Kazakh President Nazarbayev paid a state visit to China and attended the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People ’s Anti-Japanese War and the World Anti-Fascist War; Massimov paid an official visit to China and attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Prime Ministers' Meeting and the World Internet Conference.


 China has a surplus and cost-effective production capacity, and Chinese equipment meets the needs of Kazakhstan, which is advancing industrialization. The large-scale production capacity cooperation that China and Kazakhstan is working on is helping to closely link the “Belt and Road” strategy with Kazakhstan ’s current “Bright Road” plan, driving economic growth on both sides and demonstrating capacity cooperation in related countries.

Bilateral Trade 

According to statistics from China Customs, the trade volume between China and Kazakhstan was USD 14.3 billion in 2015, a year-on-year decrease of 36.3%. Among them, China ’s exports were USD 8.44 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 33.6%; imports were USD 5.86 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 39.8%.

Two-way investment

 Chinese investment in Kazakhstan. According to statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, China ’s direct investment in Kazakhstan in 2015 was US $ -25.10 billion. As of the end of 2015, China's direct investment in Kazakhstan was US $ 5.095 billion. According to the Statistics Committee of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, as of the end of 2015, there were 2,479 Chinese-funded enterprises registered in Kazakhstan, and the number of Chinese-funded enterprises ranked third among the total number of foreign-funded enterprises in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan ’s investment in China is mainly concentrated in Xinjiang, and the investment field involves leather, building materials, food, and automobile maintenance. China's investment fields in Kazakhstan mainly include oil exploration and development, Kazakhstan Petroleum's equity mergers and acquisitions, gas station network operations, electricity, agricultural and sideline products processing, telecommunications, leather processing, food and accommodation, and trade. At present, China's major projects invested in Kazakhstan are China-Kazakhstan oil pipeline project, PK project, ADM project, KAM project, Mangsitao project, Aktobe project, North Buzaki project, Ken-A Northwest pipeline project, Caspian Darhan Block Project, Sinopec FIOC and Central Asia Project, Astana Beijing Building Project, Karazhan Basi Oilfield Project, Sino-Kazakh Uranium Exploitation Project, Aktuo Asphalt Plant, and Rutnich Hydropower Project, etc. At present, China and Kazakhstan have not established an economic and trade cooperation zone or industrial park.



Kazakhstan invests in China. According to the statistics of the Central Bank of Kazakhstan, as of December 31, 2014, Kazakhstan's total investment in China was US $ 3.068 billion, and the direct investment stock in China was US $ 180 million, mainly concentrated in Xinjiang.

Contracted Labor Service 

According to the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce of China, in 2015, Chinese enterprises signed 204 new contracted engineering contracts in Kazakhstan, with a newly signed contract value of US $ 2.613 billion and a completed turnover of US $ 2.347 billion. At the end of the year, 14,698 laborers were dispatched. There are 12,394 laborers in Kazakhstan. The newly signed large-scale engineering contracting projects include the second phase of the modernization project of China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Company's Chimkent refinery; Sinosteel Jilin Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Co., Ltd. contracted the construction of 8 33MAV ferroalloy furnaces in Laganda Comprehensive Alloy Plant in Kazakhstan; The Group's Great Wall Drilling Engineering Co., Ltd. undertakes the construction of Kazakhstan Zanorkenkiak Drilling, etc.

Currency Swap

 On December 14, 2014, China and the National Bank of Kazakhstan renewed the bilateral local currency swap agreement in Astana, and signed a new bilateral local currency settlement and payment agreement. The scale of bilateral local currency swaps is 7 billion yuan / 200 billion Kazakh tenge. After bilateral currency settlement and payment agreements were signed, Sino-Kazakh local currency settlement expanded from border trade to general trade. Subjects of economic activities of the two countries can decide to use freely convertible currencies, Renminbi, and Kazakh tenge to settle and pay for goods and services.

Industrial parks invested and developed by China in China 

Kazakhstan ’s China Industrial Park is the first Chinese industrial park to participate in the investment. The industrial park is located in Aketao Seaport Special Economic Zone in Harman Gosto State. The planned development area is 100 hectares, which is jointly developed by Xinjiang Sanbao Group and Xinjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone Construction Investment Development Co., Ltd. It is planned to attract 10-15 Chinese processing enterprises to carry out production in the park.

Kazakhstan China Industrial Park

China-Kazakhstan Capacity Cooperation 

In December 2014, during the second meeting between the Chinese and Kazakh Prime Ministers, the two governments reached a consensus on developing capacity cooperation. On August 31, 2015, the two sides signed the inter-government "Framework Agreement on Strengthening Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation", which is intended to be used in Strengthen production capacity and investment cooperation in power, infrastructure construction (railroads, highways, water transportation and aviation, etc.), light industry (wool processing), agricultural product processing, transportation logistics, tourism, food processing, consumer goods production and other areas agreed by both parties

Economic and Trade Consultation Mechanism

 During the visit of Kazakhstan ’s President Nazarbayev in 2004, the two governments established the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee and set up the China-Kazakhstan Economic and Trade Cooperation Subcommittee. The eighth meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee Economic and Trade Cooperation Sub-Committee was held in Astana in 2015.



Kazakhstan is China's largest trading partner in Central Asia and the largest foreign investment target country in Eurasia. China's cumulative investment in Kazakhstan exceeded US $ 42.8 billion, and its loans exceeded US $ 50 billion. At this stage, China and Kazakhstan are implementing 51 capacity cooperation projects covering industries, innovations, transportation, logistics, and other fields, with a total value of 27 billion US dollars. More than 2,600 Chinese-funded enterprises have invested in Kazakhstan, creating tens of thousands of jobs for locals Posts, which also promoted the industrialization of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan occupies an important position in China's energy strategy. At present, there are five oil and gas cross-border transportation pipelines between China and Kazakhstan. These oil and gas pipelines provide important guarantees for energy cooperation between China and countries in Europe and Asia; It has accumulated more than 183 billion cubic meters of gas to China; the two sides may also strengthen cooperation in new energy fields such as nuclear power, wind power, and photovoltaics. Practice has proved that the economies of China and Kazakhstan are highly complementary, and both sides have great potential incapacity cooperation and energy cooperation.



China is the second-largest export market and the largest source of imports in Kazakhstan. Because Kazakhstan ’s exports to China are relatively simple, the main products exported are base metals and products, and mineral products are also the largest exporters. Affected by the decline in international raw material prices, the trade volume between China and Kazakhstan is also declining. In 2013, the trade volume between China and Kazakhstan reached 22.8 billion US dollars, but in 2014, the trade volume between China and Kazakhstan dropped to 17.182 billion US dollars. In 2015, it fell again to 10.6 billion US dollars. But from this year, this downward trend is changing. From January to April 2017, the bilateral trade volume increased by 45.6%.



Since 2016, the export of Kazakhstan ’s agricultural products to China has continued to expand, and flour, vegetable oil, soybeans, meat, honey, etc. have all been on the Chinese table.



(3) Economic and trade agreement signed with China

Bilateral Economic and Trade Agreements

 Bilateral documents on economic and trade fields signed by both parties since 1992 include: "Sino-Kazakhstan Agreement on the Establishment of an Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade and Scientific and Technological Cooperation" (February 1992), Agreement (August 1992), "China-Kazakhstan Agreement on the Use of Lianyungang for Loading, Unloading and Transportation of Kazakhstan's Transit Goods" (September 1995), "China-Kazakhstan Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Oil and Gas" (September 1997), "China-Kazakhstan Customs Cooperation and Mutual Assistance Agreement" (September 1997), "China-Kazakhstan Agreement on Cooperation against Unfair Competition and Antitrust" (November 1999), "China-Kazakhstan Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement" (2000 July), "China-Kazakhstan Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion" (September 2001), "China-Kazakhstan Agreement on the Establishment of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee" (May 2004), "China-Kazakhstan Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Cooperation in the Oil and Gas Field (May 2004), China-Kazakhstan Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement (May 2004), "China-Kazakhstan Framework for Establishing the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center" protocol "(September 2004)," China-Kazakhstan Economic Cooperation Development Concept "(December 2006)," China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Plan for Resources and Economic Fields "(August 2007)," China-Kazakhstan Economic and Trade Cooperation Mid- and Long-Term Development Plan (to 2020) "(September 2013)," China-Kazakhstan Framework Agreement on Strengthening Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation "(August 2015).

6. The relationship between Kazakhstan and the "Belt and Road" 

(1) The geographical position of Kazakhstan is important



On the ancient Silk Road, Kazakhstan has become an extremely important trade channel because of its geographical location in the center of Eurasia.



Kazakhstan is located in the middle of the Eurasian continent, with an area of   2,724,900 square kilometers and the ninth-largest land area in the world. It is the world ’s largest landlocked country, with a common border of 1783 kilometers with China, and a population of about 18 million.



Historically, Almaty, Simkent, Taraz, and other places in southern Kazakhstan were the indispensable places for the ancient Silk Road. Zhang Qian ’s envoys had been here in the Western Regions, connecting Europe and Asia. Important bond. It was also during President Xi Jinping's visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013 that he formally proposed the grand plan for the joint construction of regional economic cooperation.



On June 22, 2014, the Silk Road project jointly declared by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan was officially included in the World Heritage List. Therefore, Kazakhstan is one of the countries on the Silk Road Economic Belt that cannot be ignored, both historically and today.



After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has achieved stable development under the leadership of President Nazarbayev. The people's living standards have improved rapidly, and the per capita income has reached above the middle level.



The unique geographical location makes Kazakhstan a trading hub connecting Eurasian countries; rich resources are an important condition for it to attract foreign investment and carry out economic cooperation with foreign countries; political stability and social stability are an important basis for its smooth development of foreign cooperation. Before the "Silk Road Economic Belt" initiative was put forward, China-Kazakhstan cooperation also progressed smoothly, especially in the field of oil and gas cooperation. Kazakhstan is an important fulcrum country for cooperation between China and Central Asian countries.



In order to shorten the time and cost of shipping goods from China to Europe, China can reduce the time required from 45 days to 10-14 days by using the route within Kazakhstan. This is a clear win-win situation for both parties, because it provides a multimodal transport corridor across Eurasia.



Kazakhstan is an inevitable road from western China to Europe, and the two countries have achieved great success in road connectivity. Nazarbayev attaches great importance to the geographical advantages of Kazakhstan, "we can take advantage of the geographical advantage of our country at the junction of Europe and Asia. Our transit transport potential has great development prospects." China and Kazakhstan have made great progress in realizing the strategic connection between the construction of the New Asia-Europe Continental Bridge, the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor, and the establishment of a major international logistics channel in Kazakhstan. In 2016, the number of China-Europe freight trains transiting Kazakhstan in China exceeded 1,200, the railway transportation volume between China and Kazakhstan reached more than 8.2 million tons, and the container traffic volume has more than doubled. 



Central Asia is a bridge to Europe, but the situation in the five Central Asian countries varies greatly. Compared with other Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan has the advantage of having railway links with China, and more importantly, the country ’s leader Nazarbayev has a strategic vision and strong leadership. In terms of internal affairs, Nazarbayev implemented the national political and economic transition policy according to Kazakhstan's national conditions, maintained social stability and benefited the economy, and handled well the relations between ethnic groups and between church and state. Diplomatically, Nazarbayev also put forward many visionary initiatives, such as convening the AsiaInfo Conference and establishing the Eurasian Economic Union. In handling relations with major powers, while maintaining traditional friendly relations with Russia, Nazarbayev also paid attention to developing relations with other major powers, especially attaching importance to developing relations with China.


(2) Kazakhstan needs the “Belt and Road” development initiative



China's "Belt and Road" initiative is unprecedented in terms of both scope and tasks. Many countries directly located along the project are very welcome, seeing it as the beginning of a new creative era connecting various countries to communicate with each other. Kazakhstan is no exception in this respect.



1. The “Belt and Road” development initiative is in the interest of Kazakhstan



The “Belt and Road” development initiative requires Kazakhstan, and the development of Kazakhstan also requires “Belt and Road”.



As a landlocked country, Kazakhstan urgently needs to export to the sea; after the "Belt and Road" initiative was proposed, China became a transit point for Kazakhstan to the Asia-Pacific region. On May 22, 2014, President Xi Jinping and President Nazarbayev jointly announced the opening of China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) logistics cooperation base. The first-phase project of the base is located in the middle of Lianyungang District, covering an area of   220,000 square meters. The opening of China-Kazakhstan as a logistics base has opened a wider market for Kazakhstan, and Kazakhstan can enter the Asia-Pacific market through Chinese ports. Every year, Kazakhstan exports 4.5 million tons of goods to Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, and imports more than 2 million tons, of which more than 300,000 TEU containers, and increases year by year. In February 2017, Kazakhstan ’s wheat was exported to Southeast Asia through China ’s Lianyungang for the first time.

Kazakhstan is rich in mineral resources and agricultural products and needs to find a market; Kazakhstan is a country rich in mineral resources. Its reserves of zinc, tungsten, and barite are the first in the world, and its reserves of uranium, silver, lead, and chromite are second in the world. Copper He and fluorite reserves are third in the world, molybdenum reserves are fourth in the world, and gold reserves are sixth in the world. Kazakhstan is rich in oil and gas resources, and its proven oil reserves rank 9th in the world. Kazakhstan is also one of the world's top ten grain exporters, mainly exporting flour.



Kazakhstan ’s industrial system is incomplete and requires adequate supplies.



Kazakhstan also needs to strengthen infrastructure proposals. The “One Belt One Road” interconnection plan is of great help to the development of Kazakhstan.



2. Linking the "Belt and Road" development initiative with the "Bright Road"



In recent years, due to the collapse of global oil prices, the economic downturn in Russia, and the subsequent collapse of the ruble, Kazakhstan ’s national economy has been seriously affected. In order to revitalize the national economy, Kazakh President Nazarbayev in his annual State of the Union Address in November 2014 A new economic plan of "The Road to Brightness-Road to the Future" was proposed to strongly promote economic growth, diversify income sources and reduce Kazakhstan's dependence on energy export revenue. The core of the "Light Road" emphasizes large-scale investment in transportation and logistics infrastructure projects, with the goal of developing Kazakhstan's domestic transportation network and making it a major transportation and transportation link between major markets in China, Europe, and the Middle East hub. In view of the high degree of agreement between the goals of the “Belt and Road” and the “Road of Light”, China and Kazakhstan have agreed to coordinate and cooperate in these two projects.



Kazakhstan emphasized the commonalities between the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and Kazakhstan's "Light Road" project. Although the "Light Road" project aims to develop domestic infrastructure construction in 2015-2019. This is a government-level plan that aims to connect Kazakhstan ’s capital with important economic regions by building high-speed railways in three directions: Central South, Middle East, and Central and Western. Due to the current economic crisis caused by the sharp drop in oil prices and the negative impact of Western economic sanctions against Russia on the economy of Kazakhstan, the government will also start to create more jobs. Kazakh President Nazarbayev made a statement on the common characteristics of the two projects during his state visit to the People's Republic of China in September 2015. As he stated: The synergy of the "Light Road" and "Silk Road Economic Belt" projects will create new opportunities for strengthening the strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan. This statement shows that Kazakhstan has become the main stage of logistics transit across Asia and Europe. Kazakhstan ’s Prime Minister Karim Masimov issued a statement during his visit to China in December 2015: Common prosperity in the fields of trade production and infrastructure construction. "



Marat Shibutov, representative of the Kazakhstan Border Cooperation Association, believes that the national interests of both China and Kazakhstan can be coordinated at the right time. He believes that Kazakhstan's "Light Road" plan must be developed in conjunction with China's "Silk Road Economic Belt" plan. In addition, Dosym Satpayev, the leader of the risk assessment team, pointed out: Kazakhstan can attract Chinese investment through cooperation with China, and it can also actively use the funds of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Kazakhstan is likely to become one of the most important partners in China's "Belt and Road" project, especially the land-based "Silk Road Economic Belt".

(3) Kazakhstan actively responds to the "Belt and Road" initiative



On September 7, 2013, President Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan for the first time. It was during the speech at Nazarbayev University that he proposed the "Silk Road Economic Belt" initiative, and the "Belt and Road" began. Over the past four years, the “Belt and Road” has changed from advocacy to action, from idea to practice, and while some countries are still waiting to wait and see, Kazakhstan has responded positively.



Kazakhstan officially consciously supports the "Belt and Road" initiative, especially the "Silk Road Economic Belt" with great potential in infrastructure construction (railroads, highways) and in order to comprehensively improve the internal links of the mainland. Not only does Kazakhstan officially support China ’s claims, but analysts from Kazakhstan ’s think tanks also view the “Belt and Road” initiative as a positive development strategy and are optimistic about it. They believe that Kazakhstan and China have established a solid foundation for the implementation of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" as a highway connecting "Western China and Western Europe". And that Kazakhstan ’s railway from Turkmenistan to the Persian Gulf can become an integral part of the New Silk Road.



In November 2014, President Nazarbayev proposed a new economic policy for the "Bright Road" and linked it to China's "Belt and Road" strategy. China and Kazakhstan have strengthened "policy communication, facility connectivity, unimpeded trade, capital and financial connectivity, and people-to-people communication", and have enhanced cooperation between the two countries in various fields. On this basis, in September 2016, China and Kazakhstan officially signed the "Planning Cooperation Plan for the" Silk Road Economic Belt "Construction and the" Light Road "New Economic Policy Connection", confirming the vision of cooperation between the two countries as "improving the two countries Infrastructure interconnection level, promote investment and trade development, strengthen in-depth cooperation in transportation, industry, agriculture, energy, emerging industries, finance, intellectual property, and other fields, give full play to the advantages and potentials of both parties, continuously expand mutually beneficial and win-win development space, and promote Common prosperity and enhance the joint competitiveness in the international market. "



The document specifically plans the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of transportation infrastructure, trade, manufacturing, finance, agriculture, and humanities under the framework of the “Belt and Road” initiative. In order to strengthen economic cooperation, China and Kazakhstan signed "Framework Agreement on Strengthening Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation", "Outline of Cooperation Plan for Adjacent Areas (2015-2020)" and other documents, and also signed more than 10 cooperation agreements between government departments, Economic and trade, finance, infrastructure construction, water conservancy, quality inspection, media and many other fields. Over the past few years, the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has been in full swing, achieving complementary advantages and becoming a model of mutually beneficial andChina and Kazakhstan strengthened policy communication, jointly explored more flexible and effective investment and financing models, expanded bilateral local currency settlement, and provided support for Sino-Kazakh cooperation projects.



In the context of insufficient global economic development momentum, hegemonism and power politics, and the prevalence of trade protectionism and populism, the international community needs new impetus to promote international cooperation. The “Belt and Road” initiative proposed by China is precisely The public goods provided, the China-Kazakhstan cooperation under the framework of the “Belt and Road” initiative has provided a new model of cooperation for the international community. The biggest feature of this new model is the strengthening of the top-level design. The two heads of state indicated the direction of the development of the relationship between the two countries in a timely manner. The "Silk Road Economic Belt" initiative and the "Light Road" new economic policy have a high degree of agreement. The two governments focus on coordination in their economic development strategies and strengthen cooperation where they have common interests. In specific cooperation projects, adhering to the principles of mutual consultation and mutual construction, mutual respect, and focusing on key areas of cooperation, infrastructure construction is a key area of   China-Kazakhstan cooperation.



China and Kazakhstan have also made great achievements in cultural and people-to-people exchanges and the promotion of people-to-people exchanges. Kazakhstan has opened 5 Confucius Institutes and 7 Confucius Classrooms, and 4 Kazakhstan centers have also settled in Chinese universities. In 2016, there were nearly half a million personnel exchanges between the two countries, and there were 14,000 international students from Kazakhstan in China. In January 2017, Kazakhstan singer Dimaxi participated in the Hunan Satellite TV singer competition reality show "Singer" as the starting lineup, and finally won the runner-up in the finals. Subsequently, his first personal Chinese single "Remember the Memory" A great success, becoming a well-known singer in China. At the same time, many people in Kazakhstan began to pay attention to Chinese culture because they paid attention to Dimasi.

 2017 is Kazakhstan's China Tourism Year. China and Kazakhstan can take this opportunity to expand cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two countries and further promote the people-to-people communication between China and Kazakhstan. The “One Belt One Road” initiative has been fully and deeply connected with the development strategy of Kazakhstan, which has promoted the comprehensive and in-depth cooperation between China and Kazakhstan. It is forming a community of destiny and a community of interests between China and Kazakhstan, and is driving all countries and regions along the Belt and Road 
The cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has well implemented the "Silk Road Spirit". The "Silk Road Spirit" with the core elements of "peace cooperation", "openness and tolerance", "mutual learning and mutual learning", and "mutual benefit and win-win" elaborated by Chairman Xi Jinping was well followed in Sino-Kazakh cooperation. Kazakhstan and China have successively organized an AsiaInfo meeting to implement a new security concept that is common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable, and promote security in Asia. The two countries attach great importance to security cooperation under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, cooperate in combating the "three forces", drugs and transnational organized crime, actively promote the resolution of relevant hotspot issues, and effectively maintain regional stability. The two countries are working together to build a “Belt and Road” bilateral security mechanism to protect the safety of oil and gas pipelines and large-scale cooperation projects between the two countries, and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and businesses of both countries as well as personal and property safety. The two countries respect each other's social system and development path and support each other on major core issues involving each other's sovereignty, independence, territory, and security. In economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, we always adhere to the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, learn from each other and learn from each other, learn from each other's weaknesses, achieve mutual benefits and common development.



(4) Kazakhstan meets the challenges of the “Belt and Road” initiative



Kazakhstan faces the challenges and pressures of Russia in connection with the “Belt and Road” initiative.



Although Russia joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and after a long period of hesitation, it agreed to actively cooperate with the implementation of the “Belt and Road” initiative, but it has always regarded the so-called “near neighbors”, namely the former Soviet Union, as its backyard. Therefore, the intervention of any foreign force in this region is regarded as a confrontation against Russia ’s own regional project, the Eurasian Economic Union.



In November 2015, major logistics companies in China, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an agreement to unite various enterprises, unanimously agreeing to send Chinese goods to Russia by bypassing Russia. Kazakhstan hopes that Chinese goods will be shipped across Europe to Europe. If China supports this project, China ’s freight trains will bypass Russia and adversely affect the Trans-Siberian Railway. Beijing's shipment via Kazakhstan is the most advantageous, and it also reduces its dependence on Russia. In summary, the connection between the “Belt and Road” and the “Bright Road” may have a huge economic and geopolitical impact on the Eurasian region. The Siberian Railway has dominated the Eurasian railway industry for a century, but Russia may lose its monopoly. Whether Russia will put pressure on Kazakhstan ’s participation in the Iron and Silk Road is still worth studying.



The infrastructure construction framework of the “Belt and Road” and “Bright Road” provides potential benefits for many Chinese companies. However, as more and more Chinese companies participate, they will have to operate in fierce competition, dealing with many issues such as legal regulations and supervision, as well as cultural differences, in order to survive and develop the company.



Kazakhstan officials continue to express their support for the "Silk Road Economic Belt". Kazakhstan, while already a member of the Eurasian Economic Union project led by Russia, still does not prevent it from becoming a partner of the “Belt and Road” project led by China and contributing to the development of the project. The government of Kazakhstan has stated many times that Kazakhstan is striving to complement the two projects of Russia and China, the purpose of which is to use the economic benefits that the two countries may provide. Kazakhstan believes that in the development process, the two regional projects-"Eurasian Economic Organization" and "Belt and Road" may even complement each other. The Eurasian Economic Union and the "Silk Road Economic Belt" share common goals in improving the circulation of goods, services, and the free flow of people and capital. In this way, these two overlapping regional projects can be composed of software (the rules and regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union) and hardware (roads, railways, and bridges in the "Silk Road Economic Belt"), which will continue to develop in parallel on the Eurasian continent.

7. Outlook

China and Kazakhstan have multiple complementary relationships in the development of the “Belt and Road” initiative.



First, Kazakhstan is an important passage on the land Silk Road, and Kazakhstan, as a landlocked country, has no estuary.



Second, Kazakhstan has abundant natural resources, while China has the most complete production system in the world.



Third, China's current overcapacity requires "going out" to expand foreign investment, and Kazakhstan faces serious economic development tasks, and needs to introduce foreign capital to promote economic development.



Fourth, both parties need to resist terrorism and religious extremism.



On the whole, China and Kazakhstan need each other in the development process, and there are no prominent contradictions. I believe that in the future development, we can fully and friendly cooperation.