Recently, Liu Zhenfang, Chairman of China National Railway Group Co., Ltd., held talks with Saulanbayev, Chairman of the Management Committee of Kazakhstan Railway State-owned Co., Ltd. at China National Railway Group, and exchanged views on implementing the important consensus of the heads of state of China and Kazakhstan, deepening the cooperation between China and Kazakhstan railway ports, strengthening infrastructure connectivity, and promoting the high-quality development of China-EU trains and cross-border transport, China and Kazakhstan signed a supplementary agreement on the electronic data exchange of international intermodal freight transport between the two countries.

As Liu Zhenfang, Chairman of China National Railway Group Co., Ltd., said, the delegation of Kazakhstan National Railway Corporation is the first delegation of foreign administrative agencies received by China since the outbreak of the epidemic.

During the meeting, the two sides pointed out that the scale of railway freight between the two countries showed a positive trend. In 2022, the freight volume increased by 15% year-on-year to more than 23 million tons, hitting a new record.

The two sides discussed the development status and cooperation prospects of international transport corridors that transit through Kazakhstan, and paid special attention to the import and export issues.

The two sides also discussed a series of new projects, including the modernization of the Dorstek-Mointe railway section and the construction of the third railway port of the Bakhtu-Tacheng railway section.

On October 29, 2022, at the press conference of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in China, Kazakhstan's Ambassador to China, Shahrat Nureshev, said that the location of the third cross-border railway port between Kazakhstan and China had been determined.

The specific location of the port in China is the Baktu port in Tacheng, Xinjiang, and Kazakhstan is the border area between Abay and China. In the future, the opening of the third cross-border railway port between Kazakhstan and China will greatly promote the transportation and logistics cooperation between the two countries.

At present, there are two railway ports between China and Kazakhstan, namely Alashankou Port and Khorgos Port. The two border railway lines are Alashankou Dostek Railway and Khorgos Atenkori Railway.

China-EU Railway Channel Planning Map

Ayaguz County, Abay Prefecture, Kazakhstan, 270 kilometers away from Tacheng City, Xinjiang, is an important railway hub in Kazakhstan. In the Outline of China Kazakhstan Cooperation Plan signed by China and Kazakhstan in December 2015, it is clear to strengthen the construction of connectivity channels and study the feasibility of building the Karamay Baktu Ayaguz railway project.

On March 22, 2017, Tacheng District signed the Memorandum on the Preliminary Study of Karamay Baktu Ayaguz Railway Construction with the Dongha Prefecture Government, and jointly prepared the Study on the Scheme of Tacheng Ayaguz Railway.

On May 30, 2019, the opening of the Karamay Tacheng railway in China laid the foundation for opening the third railway channel from Xinjiang to Central Asia and Europe. Editor/Wang Yan