A New Boost for Kazakhstan–China Cooperation

As part of an official visit to the North Kazakhstan Region, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Han Chunlin, visited Kozybayev University. He toured the university’s modern agricultural laboratories, including those established in cooperation with Chinese partners. The event was attended by the Deputy Akim of the North Kazakhstan Region, Zhusup Zhumagulov, as well as representatives of the University’s partner companies: Chairperson of Aijiu, Jia Hei, and Director of Taishcha May LLP, Fan Longfei. The guests also met with the University’s researchers, academic staff, and students.

A ceremonial opening of the joint Kazakhstan–China Crop Production Laboratory also took place. The laboratory will conduct research aimed at assessing the quality indicators of crop production and determining their compliance with modern standards.

This high-level visit became another confirmation of the friendly relations between the two countries, repeatedly emphasised by the leaders of Kazakhstan and China during their bilateral meetings. It should be recalled that a new political impetus to the partnership was given by the visit of President of the PRC Xi Jinping to the SCO Summit in Astana in the summer of 2025. At that time, an important milestone for us was the signing by the Heads of State of Kazakhstan and China of an Agreement between three Kazakhstani universities (including Kozybayev University) and Northwest A&F University of China on the establishment of the Kazakhstan–China Center for Agricultural Science and Education.

For Kozybayev University, close cooperation with Chinese partners is not new and has already proven its effectiveness. Since 2017, we have been collaborating with Northwest A&F University (Yangling, China). During this period:

A joint Agrotechnopark has been established at our University, where research on crop variety testing is conducted. The varieties most resistant to the soil and climatic conditions of Northern Kazakhstan have been identified.

A trilateral memorandum was signed between Kozybayev University, Northwest A&F University, and the University of Arizona (USA) on the establishment of a Water Resources Center.

Dual degree Master’s programmes in Agronomy and Animal Science have been launched: one semester at our University and three semesters in China.

Demonstration sites have been created on the basis of agricultural enterprises in North Kazakhstan that partner with the University: Kyzylzhar Sut LLP and Mambetov & Co. General Partnership.

Joint research is being conducted to improve feed quality, increase animal productivity, and enhance reproductive performance.

Joint Kazakhstan–China laboratories in animal science, crop production, and plant biotechnology have been established.

Through academic mobility programmes, 93 Chinese students and 4 professors have visited Kozybayev University. In turn, 25 students and 3 doctoral candidates have gone to study in the PRC. In addition, 15 faculty members and 3 farmers completed internships there.

Scientific projects in animal husbandry, genomic selection of farm animals, water treatment, and irrigation are being implemented. All research is carried out in partnership with agricultural producers of the North Kazakhstan Region and is aimed at addressing urgent regional challenges in food security and water resources.

Chairman of the Management Board – Rector, Yerbol Issakayev, presented all of these achievements to the distinguished guests and put forward a proposal to establish a Kazakhstan–China Scientific Agricultural Center at Kozybayev University.

“Our region is agrarian in nature. Approximately 7 million hectares are used as arable land and pasture. We are pursuing a policy of attracting investment into the agricultural sector. This allows us to propose the creation of a joint scientific agricultural center on the basis of Kozybayev University. It will support joint Kazakhstan–China projects not only in the North Kazakhstan Region, but throughout the entire northern part of the country,” said Yerbol Issakayev.

The center will implement international applied projects, facilitate the transfer and commercialization of agricultural technologies, conduct joint research focused on adapting Chinese technologies, and provide training for highly qualified specialists.

Mr. Han Chunlin supported the initiative: “This is a very good idea. Since you already have a number of joint laboratories, we can bring them together and create a more comprehensive platform. It is very good that you have ambitious plans and that you are thinking not only about your university or your region, but about Kazakhstan as a whole. In the future, I believe we can also cooperate in the field of artificial intelligence applied to agriculture.”

He also highly appreciated the potential of Kozybayev University in developing cooperation with China, noting that the university is open to partnership and ready to further develop its own capabilities.

We express our sincere gratitude to the distinguished guests for their visit and look forward to continued strategic partnership.