Tokayev Announces Kazakhstan’s Readiness to Strengthen Strategic Partnership with China

Kazakhstan is ready to deepen what President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev calls its “comprehensive and eternal strategic partnership” with China, in a relationship he described as increasingly broad and ambitious.

In a written interview with China’s Xinhua news agency, Tokayev said bilateral cooperation now covers trade, investment, energy, transport, industry, agriculture and digital technologies. He placed particular emphasis on transport and logistics links, especially the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, which connects China with Europe.

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Our common goal is to make this route as competitive as possible.

“Our common goal is to make this route as competitive as possible,” Tokayev said. He also identified technology as a leading area for the next phase of cooperation, citing joint projects in artificial intelligence, the digital economy, smart manufacturing and workforce training.

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We firmly adhere to the one-China policy.

Tokayev said Astana and Beijing held similar positions on strengthening the role of the United Nations, international law and multilateralism. Kazakhstan, he added, “firmly adheres to the one-China policy” and will continue coordinating with Beijing through the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Central Asia-China format.

The Kazakh president also pointed to expanding humanitarian and tourism ties. He said 962,000 Chinese tourists visited Kazakhstan in 2025, an increase of 47% from the previous year. Kazakhstan wants Chinese visitors to see the country’s modern capital, ancient Turkistan, the mountains around Almaty, Mangystau’s distinctive landscapes, the Great Steppe, Silk Road heritage, music, national instruments, cuisine and traditions of hospitality. Tokayev said Kazakhstan, in turn, is discovering China with interest, describing it as an ancient civilization that offers an “impressive example of development.”

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We want to show our Chinese friends Kazakhstan in all its diversity: modern Astana and ancient Turkistan, the mountains of Almaty and the unique landscapes of Mangystau, the Great Steppe, the legacy of the Great Silk Road, our music, national instruments, cuisine and traditions of hospitality.