By Alika Abdulev for Dispatch News Desk (DND) News Agency
Astana, Kazakhstan: China and Kazakhstan are celebrating fifth anniversary of the “One Belt, One Way” (OBOR) initiative.
Over the past five years, as many as 18 top-level meetings had been held between China and Kazakhstan and bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and the countries of Eurasia have risen to a new level.
To celebrate fifth anniversary of the “One Belt, One Way” initiative in Astana, several events including two forums are being held.
It is pertinent to mention that the capital city of Astana is a land mark for One Belt—One Road as the idea of joint construction of the Economic belt of the Silk Road was put forward by China and Kazakhstan in same city first time in year 2013 when Kazakh-Chinese business forum took place.
A Kazakhstani- Chinese forum within the framework of “One belt, one way” is being held for exchanges between analytical centers, in the field of media and cultural interaction in Astana.
Approximately 130 Chinese participated attended the Kazakh-Chinese Forum in the framework of the “One Belt, One Way” on exchanges between think tanks, in the field of media and cultural interaction, jointly organized by the Chinese Association for Public Diplomacy, the Kazakhstan Council on Foreign Relations and the Huanciuvan Company and Kazakh representatives, including Vice President of the Chinese Association of Public Diplomacy Hu Zhengyue, former Ambassador of China to the Republic of China Zhang Xiuyun, former Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the People’s Republic of China Kuanysh Sultanov and Chairman Kaza Oblasts Council on Foreign Relations Yerlan Karin.
Hu Zhenggyue noted that the initiative “One belt, one way” is a completely new mechanism of international cooperation. “By working together, we will be able to create a bright path of mutual benefit and common winnings,” he added.
Kazakhstan believes that more than 200,000 new jobs were created through One Belt One Road Initiative and there is a boom in the study of the Chinese language in Kazakhstan and 14,000 students from Kazakhstan are studying Chinese language in China nowadays.
Kazakhstan and China are enjoy amazing bilateral relationship and China is the second largest trading partner, the second largest export market and the supplier of goods for Kazakhstan. Chinese institutions have already provided Kazakhstan with a loan of more than $ 50 billion, so China is the largest source of commercial credit for Kazakhstan. In 2017, cargo trains on the route China-Europe crossed the territory of Kazakhstan more than 1800 times. This indicator grew by 50% compared to 2016, the total value of the goods sent from China and Kazakhstan was $ 120 million. In addition, China created five Confucius Institutes in Kazakhstan, and Kazakhstan, in turn, established five Centers of Kazakh Language and Culture in China. Countries are also developing cooperation in the development of settlement transactions in the national currencies of the two countries and currency swaps.
According to official data, within 5 years the amount of Chinese investments in Kazakhstan exceeded more than 29 billion US dollars and Kazakhstan became a priority country for Chinese investors. At present, the number of Chinese companies registered in Kazakhstan has reached 2,600 while 600 enterprises are carrying out commercial activities in this country.
In particular, the branch of Infinitus (China), the leading corporation in the Chinese herbal medicine industry, received state registration in Kazakhstan on September 4 this year, which in turn was an important step for the company to open the Central Asian market. Executive Director of Infinitus (China) Yu Jianlin said in an interview that the rich fruits of cooperation between China and Kazakhstan within the “One Belt, One Way” allowed Infinitus to see new opportunities for development. Traditional Chinese medicine with a thousand-year history is very popular in Kazakhstan, which demonstrates a wide scope for the development of China’s healthcare industry in this country. “We are ready to become” health providers “for countries along the” One Belt, One Way, “to play a more important role in promoting humanitarian exchange and cooperation in healthcare,” Yu Jianglin said.
In general, cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has great potential, in addition, Kakhahstan is considered one of the most promising countries within the framework of the One-Belt, One Way Initiative.
