Xi Jinping to Visit Kazakhstan

From June 16 to 18, Chinese President Xi Jinping will be in Astana to attend the second meeting of the China-Central Asia Business Council. While the official agenda emphasizes economic cooperation, the visit also carries significant geopolitical weight, Orda.kz reports.

According to Bloomberg, Xi's stop in Kazakhstan is meant to serve as a strategic counterbalance to the G7 summit taking place in Canada over the same period. His presence in Astana — only his third foreign trip this year— demonstrates how seriously Beijing views Central Asia in its broader competition with the United States.

The Chinese leader is using the occasion to reinforce China’s commitment to the region and to assert his country’s growing influence.

Just days earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Kazakhstan’s foreign minister in Washington. Analysts suggest that Xi’s goals for this summit go beyond diplomacy — he is also positioning China to better insulate its economy from any future decoupling with the U.S. That includes safeguarding vital infrastructure, trade links, and resource access.

Analyst Kate Mallinson of PRISM Strategic Intelligence points out that China has been carefully observing Western sanctions on Russia since 2022, and is acting to shield itself from similar tactics. She emphasizes that Beijing is working proactively to secure supply chains and reduce vulnerability in the event of an economic clash with Washington.

Against this backdrop, the summit is expected to include discussions on tariffs, trade security, and Kazakhstan’s uranium and oil reserves — resources China may want to secure as buffers in a more fractured global economy.

China is not alone in courting Kazakhstan. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently visited, highlighting growing European interest in the region. Russia, too, remains a factor — though its influence has diminished following the war in Ukraine, creating opportunities for China to expand its presence.

China surpassed Russia in trade turnover with Kazakhstan in 2023.

Xi Jinping has now visited Kazakhstan three times since 2020 — more than almost any other country in that span. The consistent attention underscores Kazakhstan's strategic value for Beijing, particularly as China has become one of its top five sources of foreign investment.

Chinese firms have already committed $26 billion to projects in the country, including a major aluminum plant planned by East Hope Group that would produce one million tons annually.

Chinese officials frame these investments as mutually beneficial. Liu Jianchao, a senior official in the Communist Party, recently noted that China sees a prosperous Central Asia as essential to its development and believes the region stands to gain from China's openness and economic growth.

Beyond economics, the summit also serves China's broader political aims.

By leveraging alliances like BRICS, Beijing hopes to establish counterweights to Western-led institutions. In this context, the meeting in Astana reflects Kazakhstan’s evolving role as a key player in the global tug-of-war between East and West.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny