From May 25 to 27, 2026 local time, at the invitation of the Chairman of Mazhilis of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan KOSHANOV Yerlan Zhakanovich, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Zhao Leji paid an official goodwill visit to Kazakhstan. In Astana, he met with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and held talks with Chairperson of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Ashimbayev Maulen Sagathanuly and Chairman of Mazhilis of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan KOSHANOV Yerlan Zhakanovich respectively.

When meeting with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Zhao Leji first conveyed the cordial greetings and best wishes from President Xi Jinping. Zhao Leji stated that under the strategic guidance and personal blueprinting of President Xi Jinping and Mr. President, China-Kazakhstan relations have achieved leapfrog development, reaching the high level of a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. China is willing to work with Kazakhstan to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests, enhance the alignment of development strategies, and further advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. The two sides should consolidate cooperation in investment, energy, minerals, connectivity and other fields; and create new growth areas for cooperation in new energy, digital economy, artificial intelligence, cross-border e-commerce, smart cities and other areas. Both sides should also work together to make the China-Kazakhstan Year of Cultural Exchange a success, expand cooperation in culture, education, science and technology, and tourism, and promote mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. China is willing to work with Kazakhstan to strengthen coordination within multilateral frameworks such as the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the China-Central Asia mechanism to safeguard the common interests of the two countries and international fairness and justice.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asked Zhao Leji to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping, stating that Kazakhstan and China are truly good neighbors, good friends and good partners. In 2013, during his visit to Kazakhstan, President Xi Jinping first proposed to join hands building a Silk Road Economic Belt, and the joint building of the Belt and Road Initiative between the two countries has since yielded fruitful results. With highly complementary economies, there is immense potential for cooperation between the two countries in various fields including trade and investment, transportation and energy, artificial intelligence, digitalization, and cultural exchanges. Kazakhstan adheres to the one-China principle and supports the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and the four major global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping. China has played an active leading role in global governance and made significant contributions to safeguarding world peace and stability, for which Kazakhstan highly commends it. The cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries has been continuously deepened, playing an important role in promoting friendship between Kazakhstan and China.

Following the meeting, Zhao Leji was awarded the Order of Dostyq (Friendship), first class, by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

During separate talks with Ashimbayev Maulen Sagathanuly and KOSHANOV Yerlan Zhakanovich, Zhao Leji stated that exchanges and cooperation between legislative bodies are integral to China-Kazakhstan relations. Both sides should fully implement the key consensus reached by the heads of state, foster close friendly exchanges among special committees, working bodies, bilateral friendship groups, deputies to the NPC, and parliamentarians, and promptly ratify or revise relevant legal documents to provide a legal guarantee for practical cooperation between the two countries. Zhao Leji also introduced China’s 15th Five-Year Plan outline, as well as the Ecological and Environmental Code, the National Development Planning Law, and the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law. He expressed that the legislative bodies should engage in exchanges of experience on developing democracy and the rule of law, improving legislative quality, and other areas, so as to support each country’s development.

Ashimbayev Maulen Sagathanuly stated that China has become an important pillar of global stability and a powerful engine of global economic growth. Last year, the bilateral trade volume between Kazakhstan and China reached a new high, moving steadily toward the goal of doubling trade set by the heads of state of both countries. Kazakhstan will create favorable conditions for bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation. The Parliament of Kazakhstan is willing to strengthen cooperation with the NPC of China and exchange experiences in legislative work.

KOSHANOV Yerlan Zhakanovich stated that developing a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership with China is of vital importance to Kazakhstan. The Kazakh side firmly supports China’s position on the Taiwan question and issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Xizang. The entry into force of the new version of the Agreement between Kazakhstan and China on Mutual Protection of Investments will create new opportunities for bilateral investment cooperation. Kazakhstan is willing to continuously strengthen friendly exchanges between the legislative bodies of the two countries, thereby facilitating practical cooperation in various fields and promoting the development of Kazakhstan-China relations.

During the visit, Zhao Leji inspected the CNPC Central Asia Ltd in Astana. He expressed the hope to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and achieve new results in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. He also visited the Luban Workshop at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, emphasizing the need to strengthen people-to-people exchanges and solidify the public foundation for friendship between the two countries.