Kazakh reforms and relations with Beijing

At a meeting on relations between Central Asia and China, the Astana government praised the rapprochement between the ‘two lungs of Asia’, which is advancing in step with the internal transformations initiated by Tokaev. Despite protests from some opponents and activists, the president wants to project an image of ‘inclusive democracy’ by leaving the limelight to some of his collaborators.

Astana (AsiaNews) - Kazakh President's adviser Erlan Karin attended the opening of the 5th forum of analytical centres ‘Central Asia-China: new horizons for regional partnership’.

In his speech, reported by the Kazinform agency, he said that ‘all reforms already implemented and those to come are aimed at strengthening our statehood and improving the well-being of our citizens, which is why the political course we have embarked upon enjoys broad social support.’

In support of this optimistic view, surveys by the Kazakh Institute for Strategic Research are cited, according to which 73% of Kazakh citizens believe that the country is developing in the right direction.

The analysts' forum, organised jointly with the Chinese Academy's Institute for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, was attended by experts from Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Karin emphasised the dynamic evolution of relations between China and the countries of Central Asia, noting the importance of dialogue between experts in all areas, and said that the summit marked a further step towards strategic rapprochement between the “two lungs of Asia”.

The president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Gao Xiang, addressed the forum with a video greeting, indicating the main areas of cooperation, relating to security, technological development, training, tourism, archaeology and sport.

The director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Research, Erkin Tukumov, highlighted in his speech the increasingly decisive role of the analyst community in conditions of “global turbulence”, emphasising the strategic importance of the “Middle Corridor”, defined as the “interregional economic artery of the future”.

In his opinion, the crucial areas of cooperation are the development of transport corridors, the training of skilled personnel and water security. Tukumov commented that “a new world order is emerging today, the global storm is not abating, but rather is becoming increasingly turbulent, but in essence this means that we are living in a golden age for diplomacy and international relations between researchers”.

All forum participants agreed that, despite international political instability, the increasingly friendly relations between Central Asian countries and with China are the best evidence of steady and very promising growth.

The forum included thematic sessions dedicated to the strategic architecture of regional cooperation, the development of transit and economic hubs, and technological cooperation in the digital sphere, artificial intelligence and innovative ecosystems.

Before the opening of the international meeting, Erlan Karin also convened the republican commission on state symbols and heraldry for the honours of various state bodies and those equivalent to them in various sectors of social life.

The forum thus marked an important phase in Kazakhstan's politics, which, despite protests from some opponents and activists, wants to project an image of 'inclusive democracy' at home and abroad during the second presidential term of Kasym-Žomart Tokaev, the diplomat president who willingly leaves the stage to his most prestigious collaborators such as Karin, suggesting that there will be suitable successors in leadership roles and distancing himself from the traditional Central Asian image of the president as master.