Published on: 2026-06-29
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –
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Almaty, June 29 /Xinhua/ — The geographical proximity between the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Kazakhstan is transforming into an inseparable link in development, and the status of Xi’an has been elevated from “the starting point of the Silk Road” to a “permanent platform for dialogue” within the framework of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries. This was stated on Monday by Su Fangqiu, the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Almaty, in an opinion piece for the newspaper “Delovoy Kazakhstan”.
As the Chinese diplomat reminds, it was precisely in Kazakhstan that the “Belt and Road” initiative was first proposed. At the same time, more than 1700 km of the China-Kazakhstan border is located in Xinjiang, which plays a key role in cooperation between the two countries. A broad network of sister cities, a close interconnected system, deep industrial cooperation, and lively humanitarian exchanges between the two sides—all this continually contributes to the high-level development of China-Kazakhstan relations.
The comprehensive plan for China’s national development sets a clear direction for opening Xinjiang to the outside world. According to Su Fanqiu, it is necessary to promote the high-quality joint implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthening the connectivity of infrastructure and alignment of rules and standards, as well as facilitating the rapprochement of the peoples of the participating countries of the initiative. It is essential to actively promote the transformation of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region into a key zone of the Belt and Road.
From the bustling flow of people at the Khorgos border crossing to the construction of the third cross-border railway, from dozens of weekly flights to the continuous expansion of the network of twin cities in Xinjiang — this outpost of openness in the western direction is actively crafting a vivid regional story of building a community with a shared future for China and Kazakhstan through concrete actions.
Su Fangcu notes in her article that in 2023, the first “China – Central Asia” summit was successfully held in Xi’an. The Xi’an Declaration adopted at the summit confirmed the commitment of six countries to jointly build a closer community of shared destiny between China and Central Asia. In addition, a mechanism for meetings of the heads of state of China and the Central Asian countries was officially established.
In 2025, the China-Kazakhstan International Container Terminal was put into operation in Xi’an, the first tourist train “China — Central Asia” (Xi’an — Almaty) was also launched, and the China-Europe freight train collection and distribution center in Xi’an continues to expand its coverage, becoming the first in the country to exceed the 30,000 mark in total dispatched trains.
As Su Fanci writes, cooperation in agriculture and agricultural sciences is also yielding significant results. The demonstration industrial zone of high and new agricultural technologies in Yangling, relying on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization /SCO/ base for exchange and training in agricultural technologies, is developing agricultural cooperation with SCO member states, including Kazakhstan, achieving significant results.
“From the joint formation of the ‘hub-hub’ structure to the innovative ‘train + humanitarian exchanges’ model, Xi’an’s level of cooperation with Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, is rising from ‘connectedness of transport corridors’ to ‘creating an ecosystem,’ promoting the joint work of all parties to take root, develop, and yield tangible results,” concludes the consul general. –0–
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