(Bloomberg) – Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kazakhstan interviews with Central Asian leaders and provided a counterpoint to a group of seven summit by visiting a large region in connection with the competitive interests of Washington to Beijing.
The XI, which this year is doing only the third overseas trip, will meet on Monday with the Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the following day will participate in the second assembly of the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The summit in the Kazakh capital Astana takes place in parallel with the G-7 event in Canada and comes days after US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio met with the Foreign Minister in Washington. The XI hosted the inauguration summit in China-central Asia two years ago in the Chinese city of Xi’an.
The key goal for XI in Kazakhstan, where he started the initiative of large belt and road infrastructure more than ten years ago, is Kate Mallinson’s partner, Prism Strateg Infrastructure’s partner in London.
“China has come out of the last three years significantly stronger in Central Asia,” she said. “After observing the West’s attempts to use its economic influence on Russia’s isolation since 2022, China continues to make their efforts to protect its economies and supply chains against any future confrontation with the US.”
The tariff war of US President Donald Trump is likely to be on the program because XI grows alliances in Central Asia, where jockey for resources and political influence has intensified among the main powers. The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited last month and the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen went in April.
The region, home to large reserves of uranium and oil, as well as metals of rare countries, has grown importance for China and provided land routes for export to Europe.
At the same time, the Russian historical influence on the former Soviet Republic undermined the war of President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, now to his fourth year, which allowed China to increase exports to a gross domestic product of about $ 500 billion.
The Chinese leader has been visiting Kazakhstan for the third time since 2020, which makes 20 million people one of his favorite destinations in years after Covid has shortened his global way.
Tokayev, who has been President of Kazakhstan since 2019, is a Mandarin speaker who once worked as a diplomat in China. His government set a goal by 2029 to invest $ 150 billion investments by 2029, when Tokyev’s term of office should end.
It is a goal that may require greater involvement from China, due to the declining role of Russia in the region. According to official estimates Kazačha, China has committed a capital of a total of $ 26 billion, making the investor the highest 5 for the US and Switzerland.
On Monday, Kazakho and Chinese companies signed more than $ 24 billion shops on the second forum of Central Asia – China Industrial and Investment Cooperation, Kazakh Invest Company said.
“Chinese development needs prosperous Central Asia,” said Liu Jianchao, who leads the diplomatic party of the Communist Party, in March in a speech. “China welcomes Central Asian countries to make the growth and opening of Chinese growth and opening free of charge.”
China tried to face the global order led by the US-Cíl, which shares with Russia-partly by competing with the global south. In recent months, XI has participated in regional blocks summits and has used meetings with countries from Latin America and Africa to promote closer ties.
China also used rival groups for the G-7, such as the BRICS Club of Nations, named after the first members of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are partners. The group that considered a common currency will meet in July.
At the Shanghai seminar this month, Chinese academics emphasized the importance of Beijing cooperation with Central Asia in restrictions on ethnic conflicts and separatism, according to a report on state media.
Meanwhile, China has conducted economic penetration into Central Asia, increased bilateral trade and expanded investments in areas from energy to railways.
Since 2023, China has surpassed Russia as the largest business partner in Kazakhstan. This is, despite the fact that the largest economy of Central Asia, together with the neighboring Kyrgyzstan, is a member of the Customs Union led by Moscow.
Chinese exports to five Central Asian countries increased by more than 40%in 2022 and 2023 because its companies such as Huawei Technologies Co. And Byd Co., they expanded the market share. This growth slowed last year, but in the same period in 2021 – year before the invasion of Ukraine – was almost three times the level in the same period – during the first four months of 2025.
More business stores are likely to be on the table, as Chinese and Kazakh leaders meet.
The Chinese Group East Hope The Group is trying to build an aluminum melting capable of producing 1 million tonnes of metal per year in Kazakhstan. According to Kazakh Invest, a large industrial project with an estimated price price of more than $ 12 billion is part of a large industrial project.
Before the meeting between Tokayev and XI on Monday, Kazakh and Chinese companies signed 58 trade agreements worth over $ 24 billion, according to Kazakh Invest. Kazakhstan’s development bank provided a $ 1 billion credit line in dollars and Yuan from the Chinese Development Bank.
Foreign Minister Kazakhstan Alibek Kuantyrov said in a statement that his country with China’s “portfolio” with China includes 224 projects worth approximately $ 66.5 billion, which is expected to create about 50,000 jobs. “Kazakhstan traditionally combines great importance for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation with Central Asian countries and People’s Republic of China,” he said.
-S using James Mayger, Colum Murphy and Jing.
(Updating to signature investment trades in the 12th paragraph.)
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