On a working day in early summer in Beijing, Belik Wali, the governor of Abai Region in Kazakhstan, walked into the conference hall and shook hands with Chinese entrepreneurs one by one before taking their seats. On the table lay not only a memorandum of cooperation, but also a blueprint for this young administrative region - which was only separated from East Kazakhstan Oblast in 2022- to fill in the gaps in the industry. After multiple rounds of negotiations, the Abai state government and Chinese companies have finalized an investment agreement with a total amount of 2.5 billion US dollars on the spot, covering aluminum manufacturing, industrial parks, infrastructure logistics and other fields, marking the shift of China Kazakhstan capacity cooperation from trade to physical roots.

Billion dollar aluminum plant to be launched within the year

China's leading mining holding company Jiachen Group (Liaoning Jiachen Holding Group) has partnered with Xinjiang Sanbao Industrial Group to invest $1 billion to build a new aluminum smelter in Makanxi District, Abai Prefecture. The project will be funded by the company's own funds and is planned to be launched and implemented within the year. Once officially put into operation, it will provide at least 2000 local job opportunities and improve the production capacity layout of Chinese enterprises in overseas mineral deep processing.

1.5 billion to build a 3000 hectare industrial park

Huaxia Dongyin DDS Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Abai Prefecture to invest 1.5 billion US dollars in the construction of a comprehensive industrial park covering an area of 3000 hectares in Bakhti Village (Bakht Village), Makanxi District. The park is positioned as a processing, manufacturing, and logistics distribution base for Central Asia. In the future, it will introduce multiple Chinese manufacturing enterprises to settle in and help promote the diversification and upgrading of local industries.

Going both ways to deeply cultivate the Central Asian market

Kazakhstan is accelerating the promotion of local industrialization, and Abay Oblast urgently needs external funds and technology to fill the gap in processing, manufacturing, and park supporting facilities. The local government has relied on the Urumqi overseas office to promote the investment environment on a regular basis, actively seeking investment opportunities abroad and optimizing foreign investment service windows. For Chinese enterprises, taking advantage of Kazakhstan's regional advantages and preferential policies to connect Europe and Asia, exporting domestic mature production capacity and park construction experience, and then taking root in Central Asia through localized operation is a key step to broaden the overseas industrial landscape under the the Belt and Road framework.keywords:Foreign construction news network

During the signing period, the delegation from Abai State also met with enterprises such as China Railway Construction Engineering Group to exchange views on transportation, logistics, and infrastructure projects. As the memorandum gradually enters the implementation stage, this grassland area adjacent to Xinjiang, China is expected to become a new model for cross-border production capacity cooperation between China and Kazakhstan.Editor/Yang Meiling