China has reaffirmed its position as Kazakhstan’s leading trading partner for the second consecutive year. Since 2023, China’s share in Kazakhstan’s total trade has exceeded 20%. Before the pandemic, the figure was significantly lower — just 15.1% in 2019.
Over the past few years, the volume of mutual trade between the two countries has doubled. According to the Bureau of National statistics of Agency for Strategic planning and reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the trade turnover reached 30.1 billion US dollars last year. Export and import volumes are now nearly equal: in 2024, Kazakhstan exported goods and services worth 14.9 billion US dollars to China, while imports from its eastern neighbor totaled 15.2 billion US dollars. In the first quarter of this year, the bilateral trade volume amounted to 5.9 billion US dollars — down 5.1% compared to January–March 2024, primarily due to a decline in Kazakhstan's exports.
According to reports from the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan, the country primarily exports crude oil and gas, metal ores and concentrates, uranium, wheat, and other agricultural products to China. China, in turn, remains a major supplier of vehicles, digital equipment, construction materials, clothing, and footwear to Kazakhstan. The country imports over 100 million US dollars’ worth of socks from Chinese suppliers each year. Electronic goods dominate among the import categories: last year, out of the 15.2 billion US dollars in total imports, approximately 683.6 million US dollars were spent on computers, laptops, and other digital devices.
China is also among the top five largest sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Kazakhstan. Last year, it ranked fifth among key investor countries by gross FDI inflow. According to the National Bank, total direct investments from Chinese investors in Kazakhstan amounted to 1.2 billion USD. This figure nearly halved over the year. However, a similar downward trend was observed among other investor countries as well. Overall, last year marked a record low in gross FDI inflows into Kazakhstan.
The dynamics of gross FDI inflow from China to Kazakhstan have shown a zigzag pattern in recent years, with inflows fluctuating between sharp declines and increases. This is partly due to the phased financing of joint projects.
Investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and China goes beyond trade and the automotive sector. China plays a major role in the development of Kazakhstan’s oil refining, metallurgy, chemical industry, and power sector. From 2015 to 2022, the two countries successfully implemented 25 joint projects in Kazakhstan totaling 7.4 billion USD.
Planned for the coming years is the implementation of around 30 major investment projects. According to data from “KAZAKH INVEST” National Company JSC and Halyk Research, as of July last year, the total value of planned Kazakhstan–China joint projects stood at 5.2 billion US dollars. Most of these are expected to be carried out in the industrial and energy sectors.
One of the largest recent investments is the construction of a new copper smelter in the Abai Region. The project is valued at approximately 587.8 billion tenge and is being jointly financed by KAZ Minerals and a Chinese partner. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2028.
Another major Chinese-led initiative is the construction of an industrial town within the special economic zone in the Zhetysu Region. Preliminary estimates place the total investment at 330 billion tenge. The complex, spanning more than 1,000 hectares, will house enterprises in non-ferrous metallurgy, electronics, and food production.
China is also investing heavily in Kazakhstan’s green energy sector. Projects include the construction of wind power plants in the Abai, Aktobe, Mangystau, and Ulytau Regions. Over several years, total investments in these initiatives are expected to reach approximately 625.8 billion tenge.
The active involvement of Chinese businesses in Kazakhstan’s economy is also evident from the growth in the number of operating legal entities with foreign participation. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, as of May 1, 2025, Kazakhstan had more than 4.1 thousand such entities, most of which are small enterprises. Compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, this figure has increased 3.5 times.
Nearly half (40.7%) of all legal entities with Chinese capital participation operate in the trade sector — totaling 1.7 thousand companies. A significant number of Chinese-funded enterprises are also registered in manufacturing (354), construction (352), and the mining industry (209).
