Hong Kong Chief Govt John Lee visited Kazakhstan with the biggest delegation he has ever led – 75 officers and entrepreneurs representing logistics, inexperienced vitality, mining, know-how and training – as China’s commerce with Central Asia elevated by 12% year-on-year.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who met with Prime Minister Li, expressed confidence that the go to will deliver new alternatives to strengthen mutually helpful cooperation, develop enterprise contacts and launch promising joint tasks, together with within the fields of funding, finance, digitalization and AI, transport and logistics.
Tokayev stated: “This occasion will certainly give additional impetus to the event of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Hong Kong, and extra broadly between Kazakhstan and China. Kazakhstan and China have loved a complete strategic partnership for a few years.”
“The 2 nations preserve a excessive degree of political dialogue and actively develop commerce, financial and funding cooperation. The identical will be stated of relations with Hong Kong.”
Dr. Zhang Kuo-kuan, Hong Kong’s deputy secretary-general of the Ministry of Justice, advised Euronews that the mission goals to place Hong Kong as a bridge between mainland Chinese language corporations seeking to develop internationally and Central Asian markets.
“Central Asia is actually a promising rising marketplace for mainland Chinese language corporations,” he stated.
“As you may see, there are Hong Kong corporations on this delegation, that are excellent, particularly within the monetary sector and the innovation and know-how sector. There are additionally mainland Chinese language corporations, and in case you take a look at the checklist, you may see that they’re among the huge mainland Chinese language corporations.”
The net platform he oversees is a primary instance of the form of cooperation Hong Kong seeks. Its objective is to supply a database {of professional} service suppliers to Hong Kong and mainland Chinese language corporations wishing to enter abroad markets.
“Up to now, Chinese language corporations that needed to develop into worldwide markets with out skilled providers in Hong Kong confronted many challenges and lots of failures as a result of they weren’t conversant in the industrial tradition and regulatory regime of abroad markets,” Dr Chan defined.
“Central Asia isn’t a brand new marketplace for skilled service suppliers in Hong Kong. I’ve introduced many success tales to this delegation. For instance, Central Asian airways are leasing planes from Chinese language airways, and we will help this transaction.”
shared authorized basis
The delegation’s go to additionally included a cease on the Astana Worldwide Monetary Heart, which operates underneath British widespread legislation, the identical authorized framework that governs Hong Kong.
Mr Chan stated this shared authorized infrastructure has created direct alternatives for Hong Kong attorneys and monetary professionals to behave as intermediaries for mainland Chinese language corporations working in Kazakhstan and throughout Central Asia.
“Mainland Chinese language corporations can come right here underneath the steerage of Hong Kong authorized specialists,” he stated. “And we now have businessmen not solely coming from mainland China, but additionally from the Center East and all around the world.”
The go to coincides with China’s rising financial involvement throughout Central Asia.
Commerce between China and 5 Central Asian nations reached $106.3 billion (91.3 billion euros) within the first 10 months of 2025, 6 proportion factors quicker than the earlier yr’s development price, in response to China’s Ministry of Commerce.
