Nikola Mikovic

Opinion | Hong Kong and Xinjiang could be the core of Kazakhstan’s China strategy

As the centre of global economic activity shifts from West to East, strengthening ties with China will remain one of Kazakhstan’s top priorities.

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Almas Seitakynov, consul general of Kazakhstan in Hong Kong, poses with his country’s flag, in Central on October 4. Photo: Edmond So

Nikola Mikovic

Published: 8:30pm, 15 Dec 2024Updated: 10:53am, 16 Dec 2024

Building strong ties with China has traditionally been one of Kazakhstan’s key foreign policy priorities. Astana now aims to strengthen relations not only with the country’s central leadership in Beijing but also with Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s strategic location, open economy, tradition of free trade, ease of starting a business and numerous tax benefits make it attractive to companies worldwide, including those from Kazakhstan. In 2016, Hong Kong’s then-financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah encouraged the largest Central Asian nation to expand economic ties with the financial hub.

“Hong Kong is one of the best places in the world to do business. We are a global city and we fly the flag of free trade,” he stressed, adding, “We have the experience, the expertise and the connections to serve as the fundraising and financial management hub for the Belt and Road economies.”

Indeed, experience is precisely what Kazakhstan seeks to gain from Hong Kong. Earlier this month, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin met Hong Kong commerce and economic development secretary Algernon Yau Ying-wah in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Zhumangarin reportedly invited representatives of the Hong Kong stock exchange to Kazakhstan to share their experience.

It is no secret that Kazakhstan seeks to build stronger ties between the Astana International Financial Centre and the Hong Kong stock exchange.

In an interview with the Post on October 6, Almas Seitakynov, Kazakhstan’s top envoy in Hong Kong, said that his country would like to boost trade ties with the city and connect Kazakhstan’s financial centre in Astana with the Hong Kong’s stock exchange while pushing to bolster cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.