Zhao Leji pays an official goodwill visit to Kazakhstan.

From May 25 to 27, 2026 (local time), at the invitation of Kazakhstani Mazhilis Speaker Yerlan Koshanov, Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, paid an official goodwill visit to Kazakhstan. In Astana, he met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and held talks separately with Senate Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev and Mazhilis Speaker Yerlan Koshanov.

During the meeting with Tokayev, Zhao Leji first conveyed the cordial greetings and best wishes of President Xi Jinping. Zhao stated that under the strategic guidance and personal planning of President Xi Jinping and President Tokayev, China–Kazakhstan relations have achieved leapfrog development and reached a high level of permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. The Chinese side is ready to work with Kazakhstan to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests, strengthen alignment of development strategies, and advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. China also seeks to consolidate cooperation in investment, energy, minerals, and connectivity, and foster new growth areas such as new energy, digital economy, artificial intelligence, cross-border e-commerce, and smart cities. Both sides should jointly hold the “China–Kazakhstan Cultural Exchange Year” and expand cooperation in culture, education, science and technology, and tourism to promote closer people-to-people ties. Cooperation and coordination should also be strengthened within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the China–Central Asia mechanism, in order to safeguard common interests and international fairness and justice.

Tokayev asked Zhao Leji to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping. He noted that Kazakhstan and China are true good neighbors, good friends, and good partners. In 2013, during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Kazakhstan, he first proposed the initiative of jointly building the “Silk Road Economic Belt,” and since then, China–Kazakhstan Belt and Road cooperation has achieved fruitful results. The two economies are highly complementary, with great potential for cooperation in trade and investment, transport and energy, artificial intelligence, digitalization, and humanities. Kazakhstan firmly adheres to the one-China principle and supports President Xi Jinping’s vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind as well as the four global initiatives. China’s active leadership in global governance and its contribution to world peace and stability are highly appreciated by Kazakhstan. Inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries has continuously deepened and played an important role in promoting China–Kazakhstan friendship.

After the meeting, Zhao Leji accepted the Order of Friendship (First Class) awarded by President Tokayev.

During talks with Ashimbayev and Koshanov respectively, Zhao Leji stated that exchanges and cooperation between legislative bodies are an important component of China–Kazakhstan relations. Both sides should fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain close friendly exchanges between specialized committees, working bodies, parliamentary friendship groups, deputies, and members of parliament, and promptly approve and revise relevant legal documents to provide legal safeguards for practical cooperation between the two countries. He also introduced China’s “15th Five-Year Plan” outline, as well as the Ecological Environment Code, the Law on National Development Planning, and the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, noting that the two legislative bodies could conduct exchanges on democratic and rule-of-law development and improving legislative quality, thereby supporting national development on both sides.

Ashimbayev stated that China has become an important pillar of global stability and a strong engine of global economic growth. Bilateral trade reached a new record last year and is moving toward the goal set by the two heads of state to double trade volume. Kazakhstan will create favorable conditions for bilateral economic and investment cooperation. The Kazakh parliament is willing to strengthen cooperation with China’s National People’s Congress and share legislative experience.

Koshanov stated that developing a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership with China is of vital importance to Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan firmly supports China’s positions on issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Xizang. The entry into force of the new China–Kazakhstan Investment Protection Agreement will create new opportunities for investment cooperation. He expressed willingness to further strengthen friendly exchanges between the two countries’ legislative bodies and promote practical cooperation in various fields, contributing to the development of Kazakhstan–China relations.

During the visit, Zhao Leji inspected China National Petroleum Corporation Central Asia–Russia Company in Astana, expressing hope to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and achieve new outcomes in Belt and Road collaboration. He also visited the Luban Workshop at Eurasian National University, emphasizing the importance of strengthening people-to-people exchanges and consolidating the social and public foundation of bilateral friendship.