From among a set of news reports that have appeared recently and fit into the context of Kazakh-Chinese and Kazakh-Russian relations, one appears to be worthy of special attention. This is the statement by the Kazakh Minister of Trade and Integration, Arman Shakkaliev, about China having come out on top among Kazakhstan’s trading partners, surpassing Russia.
In terms of trade with Kazakhstan, China, according to Chinese figures, for the first time bypassed Russia a decade and a half ago. According to the Kazakh statistical data, this first happened only in 2023. The discrepancies in Kazakhstan-China trade turnover value can perhaps be attributed to differences between the methods of keeping statistics. But, in truth, such an explanation sounds quite unconvincing, as the data of the parties varied and is still varying widely. For instance, China was Kazakhstan’s largest trade partner in 2023, with bilateral trade turnover reaching $41 billion, a 32% increase over the previous year’s total, according to Chinese figures. The Kazakhstan side, meanwhile, reported total bilateral trade in 2023 as totaling $31.5 billion.
In Soviet times when the State borders were on the lock, most Kazakhs knew next to nothing about China, and little more about the rest of the world. Much has changed since then – nationally and internationally.
China is now the world’s second-largest economy and the Central Asian country’s largest trading partner. That is, for Kazakhstan and Kazakhs, China has largely replaced and continues to replace Russia which became the successor State to the Soviet Union.
However, there are spheres in Kazakhstan where Russia’s presence has not diminished but, on the contrary, has increased in the post-Soviet period. This refers to the scope of use of the Russian language in the Kazakh State and society and the extent of influence that the Russian media exerts on public opinion in the Central Asian nation.
So, let’s take a close look at that factor. The predominant view in........