The IBI Digital Economy Headquarters in Almaty, Kazakhstan was officially unveiled and put into use, with over 230 Chinese and Kazakh political and business representatives in attendance. The goal of this new platform is not just to serve the localized operation of Chinese enterprises, but to become a hub node for both countries in the fields of digital economy, cross-border e-commerce, trade and investment, and supply chain.

New variables above $48.7 billion in trade volume

Abidabekov, Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan, revealed a set of data in his unveiling speech: the bilateral trade volume between China and Kazakhstan will reach 48.7 billion US dollars in 2025, setting a new historical high; The bilateral trade volume has reached 22 billion US dollars in the first five months of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 27%. He also made it clear that the next goal is not only to expand the scale of trade, but also to improve the quality of cooperation through digital transformation and industrial chain collaboration.

By 2025, China's direct investment in Kazakhstan will reach 2.826 billion US dollars, setting a record in the history of bilateral cooperation; Since 1993, China's cumulative investment in Kazakhstan has exceeded 30.7 billion US dollars. The unveiling of IBI headquarters is a pawn in transforming economic and trade stocks into digital transformation increments.

The new hub of the Digital Silk Road

The role setting of IBI Digital Economy Headquarters is quite clear: on one hand, it connects with the needs of Chinese enterprises to go global to Central Asia, and on the other hand, it builds a channel for Kazakhstan's local industries to access the Chinese industrial chain. According to Guolian, it will focus on six directions in the future, including industrial Internet enabled manufacturing, smart cross-border logistics system construction, bilateral industrial investment and joint venture project landing.

20 cooperation agreements were signed on site, covering multiple fields such as non-ferrous metals, agriculture, energy and mineral resources, equipment manufacturing, logistics, and finance. The Xianfeng Qihang Overseas Service Liaison Station was unveiled simultaneously, positioning itself as a one-stop service window for providing policy consultation, legal compliance, and landing docking for Chinese and Kazakh enterprises. Keywords: Almaty, digital economy

The current total foreign trade volume of Kazakhstan is 56.35 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%. China remains its largest trading partner with 13.51 billion US dollars, accounting for 24%. On the channel where bilateral trade continues to climb, a transit station based on digital capabilities is opening up new depths for cooperation between the two countries.Editor/Cheng Liting