Roman Sklyar: Central Asia's trade volume with China reaches $95B

The volume of trade between Central Asian countries and China reached $95 billion in 2024, half of which is with Kazakhstan, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar said on June 16 at the second China–Central Asia Industrial and Investment Cooperation Forum, Report informs.

"China is one of the main trade and investment partners of Kazakhstan and the Central Asian countries. Last year, the volume of trade between the Central Asian region and China reached $95 billion, of which almost half is with Kazakhstan. Thus, bilateral trade reached a historic mark of $44 billion," Sklyar said.

According to him, the volume of Chinese capital investments in the economies of the countries of the region exceeded $40 billion.

"About 10,000 companies with the participation of Chinese capital operate in the markets of the Central Asian countries. In Kazakhstan alone, 224 projects worth a total of about $66.4 billion are being implemented with the participation of Chinese investors," he added.

The deputy prime minister believes that the implementation of transnational projects with the participation of Chinese investors undoubtedly contributes to increasing the level of economic interconnectedness of the region.

"Today, large-scale economic reforms are being carried out in Kazakhstan, as in other Central Asian states, which open up new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation with partners. The government of Kazakhstan aims to increase the volume of investment, transfer advanced technologies, localize production and create high-value-added clusters with the participation of Chinese investors," Sklyar noted.