Without Russia, Kazakhstan has offered China a new solution and has also assured China that the sale will never be detrimental.
Kazakhstan and China's cooperation in transport logistics continues to deepen
According to Kazakh media reports, Recently, China and Kazakhstan officially signed a strategic agreement, focusing on development.Trans-Caspian international transport routeThe two sides reached in-depth cooperation consensus in the fields of railway transportation, logistics digitalization and infrastructure construction.
Just a few months before the signing of the agreement, the China-Kazakhstan International Road Transport Agreement came into effect, expanding the scope of cooperation to global transportation and third-country transportation, and also realizing facilitation measures such as electronic driving permits.
Within a few months of intensive cooperation, Kazakhstan responded accurately to China’s core concerns.
The core of the agreement is the systematic upgrade of the international transport routes across the Caspian Sea.
The route starts from China in the north, passes through Kazakhstan, arrives at Aktau Port on the Caspian Sea, crosses the Caspian Sea by sea to Baku Port in Azerbaijan, and then transfers to Europe by railway via Georgia and Turkey, forming "Railway + Shipping + Railway" Multiple transportation routes.
International Transport Corridor across the Caspian Sea
The railway department of the two countries also specifically signed the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Agreement, which clearly states that operational processes should be optimized, port customs efficiency should be improved, and the modernization of infrastructure should be promoted.
Kazakh President Tokayev subsequently further stated that the country has created optimal conditions for cooperation projects and plans to invest US $80 billion in the construction of locomotive facilities by 2029.
These concrete measures constitute the basis for “reassuring the Chinese side”.
Kazakhstan wants to reassure the Chinese side that this deal will not harm any of the parties, but is a mutually beneficial and win-win option.
As Deputy Prime Minister Zhu Mangalin pointed out in an interview recently,This route can directly bypass Russia, connect China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and other countries, and increase the cargo transportation volume to 10 million tons.
Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Zhuhanggalin
For China, the greatest value of this new channel is to break the bottlenecks and risks of traditional transport routes.
Compared to traditional routes, the advantages of the cross-Caspian canal are constantly highlighted in actual operations.
In 2021, the freight volume of the "Middle Corridor" has reached 29,000 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 52%, and will exceed 70,000 TEUs by 2022.
Although the current size is only 8% of the "Northern Corridor", the growth potential is huge - Kazakhstan plans to increase the number of ships on the Caspian Sea route to 10 and the capacity has doubled.
For Chinese enterprises, this means that they no longer have to put eggs in one basket: time-sensitive products such as home appliances and automobiles can be quickly delivered to Europe through the Trans-Caspian Sea channel, while bulk commodities can flexibly choose routes according to cost changes.
This diversification of options is the key guarantee to address global supply chain volatility.
Continuously deepening cooperation
From a geopolitical perspective, the value of this channel far exceeds logistics itself.
Against the background of continued Western sanctions against Russia, the stability of the "Northern Corridor" has been tested.
In the past, China’s goods exported to Europe were mostly dependent on the “Northern Corridor” through Russia, but the Russian-Ukrainian conflict caused the routes to shrink sharply and face uncertainty caused by sanctions.
The trans-Caspian route provides a stable alternative:Through the planned route of the future Zhejiang Railway, goods from China to Europe can shorten the distance of 900 kilometers, save up to 8 days of time, and reach the heart of Europe in 12 days.
Moreover, Kazakhstan, as a core country in Central Asia, has maintained peace and stability on its 1,700-kilometer Sino-Kazakhstan border for a long time. The cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the SCO provides systemic guarantees for cooperation.
President of Kazakhstan Tokayev
Tokayev emphasized in his signature article that the “Modernity on the Road.”This strategic mutual trust provides fundamental support for channel security.
For China, this channel can further deepen ties with Central Asia and the South Caucasus region, forming synergies with the Belt and Road initiative.
It is worth noting that Kazakhstan's "reassurance" is not an empty promise, but a real interest binding.
The bilateral trade volume between China and Kazakhstan in 2024 has reached$43.8 billionChina hasined Kazakhstan’s leading trade partner status for many years.
cooperation in the development of the cross-Caspian Canal, Kazakhstan can consolidate its position as an Asian-European transport hub.Upgrade from "transit country" to "logistics center"This is highly consistent with the economic transformation goal of getting rid of its dependence on resources.
China Land Transportation
The construction of this community of interests can guarantee the sustainability of cooperation more than any verbal promise.
Today, the construction of the Trans-Kashmir Canal has entered a period of acceleration: China has not only signed more than 70 cooperation documents, but China Railways has also reached an agreement with Azerbaijan Railways to jointly build the channel, forming a multinational linkage pattern.
With the holding of the “Chinese Year of Tourism” in Kazakhstan in 2025, the deepening of humanitarian exchanges between the two countries will inject more emotional bonds into pragmatic cooperation.
For China, this “sale” profit. Not only the reduction of logistics costs and the improvement of route safety,In the complex international environment, we have found a cooperation path that takes into account economic interests and strategic security.
Kazakhstan's "reassuring commitment" is essentially aPermanent Comprehensive Strategic Partnershipand accurate interpretation.
Foreign Ministers of China and Five Central Asian Countries Meet
On this new passage across the Caspian Sea, it carries not only exchanged goods, but also the common pursuit of diversified cooperation between the two countries, which is the core code of bilateral cooperation.