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Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry said at KIOGE 2026 on 1 October that the Shymkent refinery (PKOP) should grow from 6 to 12 million tonnes a year by 2030, with CNPC's East China Design Institute preparing the feasibility study. To supply it, a Kazakhstan-China pipeline expansion is being studied: five pumping stations, a 189 km loop, Kenkiyak-Atyrau to 15 million tonnes and Kenkiyak-Kumkol to 20 million tonnes a year. KMG cited the same figures in July. Cost, contractors and financing are undisclosed.

Kazakh carmaker Allur says assembly of Li Auto vehicles at its SaryarkaAvtoProm plant in Kostanay is due to begin in November 2026, Li Auto's first production outside China. Three hybrid models, the L6, L7 and L9, will be built first using semi-knocked-down (SKD) assembly, mainly for the domestic market. Design capacity is up to 10,000 vehicles a year, with about 200 jobs expected. The two companies signed a strategic cooperation agreement in July, when the L6, L8 and L9 were named. Prices and a timeline for deeper localisation have not been announced.

On July 17, 2026, Kazakh President Tokayev attended the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai and delivered a speech. During the visit to Shanghai, China and Kazakhstan signed more than 70 agreements and memorandums totaling over $15 billion, covering digital infrastructure, transport and logistics, and security; Kazakhstan said that bilateral trade last year reached $49 billion, and China's economic investment in Kazakhstan exceeded $30 billion.

A consortium of Xinjiang Sanbao Industrial Group and Inner Mongolia Wanjiang Investment signed an agreement with the Abai regional administration at the Kazakhstan–China Investment Forum in Almaty on 25 September to build a 300,000-tonne-a-year electrolytic aluminium smelter and a 1 GW wind farm to power it. The smelter is put at about $1 billion, with construction planned from March 2027 to December 2028. The same consortium plans a $172 million particleboard plant in Semey with capacity of 2 million sheets a year, for 2027–2028. No construction has started yet.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister amended the investor visa petition rules by an order of 28 September 2026 (in force 12 October, per Caravan.kz); for Chinese investors this means an individual who invested USD 300,000 or more over 12 months can obtain a petition valid for up to 10 years. Applications go through egov.kz to the Foreign Ministry's Investment Committee, which reviews them within 3 working days. The rules were checked against adilet.zan.kz; the order's number is not in the source and was not yet in the adilet text on 4 October.

Yonggang Central Asia Iron and Steel, part of China's Fujian Hengwang Investment, is building a full-cycle steel plant in the Jibek Joly special economic zone in Zhambyl region's Shu district. Environmental impact filings published in September put design capacity at up to 3 million tonnes a year, with a 1 Mt first phase due in 2027 and a second phase by 2029, using gas-based direct reduced iron and electric arc furnaces to make rebar and long products. Official statements give total investment as $1.2 billion in one case and $756 million in another.

China's State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) and project company Pavlodar Green Energy LLP are building a 1 GW wind farm near Ekibastuz in Kazakhstan's Pavlodar region, paired with a 300 MW/600 MWh energy storage system. Investment is put at about $1.2 billion and commissioning is planned for 2029. An investment agreement and a package of implementation documents were signed in January, construction began in late March, and on 10 September the Energy Ministry and SPIC discussed the next stage.

Construction of a Robotics & AI complex by Kazakhstan's QAZBOT Technologies and China's AgiBot began in Astana on 18 August; the company puts phase-one investment at about $200 million. At AI & Digital Bridge 2026 in early October, QAZBOT named three product lines: humanoid robots, robot dogs and service robots for malls and hotels, with pilots in Astana and Almaty. Completion dates, output volumes and job numbers have not been disclosed.

Kazakhstan’s “AI & Digital Bridge” event reached more than 60 new agreements and 7 projects won 2026 awards; the page covers common rules for responsible AI use, AI in 500 schools, the “Data Center Valley” project, rail transport to a Pakistani seaport and Caspian ferries. For Chinese investors these point to opportunities in AI, data centres and transit.

The transport ministries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure have signed a memorandum on the CASA railway project, a proposed Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan route to Pakistani seaports. It covers technical and economic studies and a feasibility review only, and a working group is under consideration. No route, investment figure or timeline has been published, and construction has not started.

KAZAKH INVEST and Singapore-based ECG have discussed building an AI data center campus in Ekibastuz. The first phase would carry an IT load of about 100 MW, with room to expand to 1 GW. ECG is considering acting as investor, developer and owner, and taking part in operations.

Government Resolution No. 687 of 31 July 2026 amends the Regulation on the Aktobe SEZ, adding sub-zones in the Alga, Mugalzhar and Khromtau districts totalling 337 ha, which for Chinese investors seeking manufacturing sites widens the choice. Per the resolution text, the SEZ covers 1,610 ha, including Aktobe airport and sub-zones in four districts, and is a port SEZ. According to the regional akimat, domestic and foreign investors can be participants; utility supply for some new sites is still being determined.

The Karaganda regional department of entrepreneurship and industry says an industrial zone of republican significance is planned in Temirtau on the basis of Qarmet: eight projects worth over KZT 900 billion and more than 3,000 jobs, including a coke gas utilisation project by China National Chemical Engineering International Corp. (KZT 180 billion) — a possible entry point for Chinese investors in coal chemicals and metallurgy. The concept has been submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Construction for an expert council and is not yet approved; participants are still being studied.

On October 1–3, the AI & Digital Bridge 2026 international technology forum was held in Astana, organized by Astana Hub, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, and the Astana city government; more than 60 new agreements were reached. The Kazakh side proposed the “Data Center Valley” project and up to 5 GW of additional power capacity, a potential cooperation entry point for Chinese investors interested in computing power, data centers and AI adoption across industries.

Karaganda Region plans to expand the Saryarka SEZ with three sub-zones in Balkhash and the Karkaraly and Bukhar-Zhyrau districts, expecting about KZT 90 billion of investment and around 2,000 jobs. Two of the sub-zones are for tourism, one is a 40-hectare industrial site. Chinese companies thinking of hotel, tourism or industrial projects in central Kazakhstan may want to watch it, but so far there are only the regional authorities' words and no resolution text.

Government Resolution No. 687 of 31 July 2026 enlarges the Aktobe SEZ from 858 to 1,610 hectares, adds sub-zones in the Alga, Baiganin, Mugalzhar and Khromtau districts, and resets the zone's targets through 2049. For Chinese companies weighing manufacturing in western Kazakhstan it is one more site worth visiting, though the targets are plans, not investment that has arrived.

Government Resolution No. 495 of 1 July 2025 created the Khorgos – Eastern Gate SEZ in Zhetysu Region, a logistics-type zone of 5,431.5 hectares with planned investment of KZT 715.5 billion by 2035. Chinese companies in cross-border logistics, warehousing and processing can follow it, but the SEZ law keeps foreign applicants out of zones whose boundaries coincide with the EAEU customs border. We have not verified whether this zone is one of them, so eligibility should be confirmed with the zone's management company first.

In June 2026 Kazakhstan's foreign minister signed two orders changing the investor one-stop-shop rules and the rules for the investors register and the national digital investment platform. A Chinese company seeking support for a project first has to work out whether it falls into the national or the regional project pool, and whether it can reach the new green corridor score of 1.6. We could not check the text of the second order, so its details rest on the US law firm Morgan Lewis's summary.

Chinese customs data show China–Kazakhstan trade of USD 30.68 billion in January–August 2025, up 5.7% year on year, with Chinese exports at USD 19.4 billion and imports from Kazakhstan at USD 11.28 billion. The figures came out in September 2025. They help gauge the overall trend and the size of the Kazakh market for Chinese exporters, but they are a year old, so newer statistics are needed before any decision.

Kazakhstan's new Tax Code applies from 1 January 2026. The basic VAT rate goes up from 12% to 16%, the basic corporate income tax rate stays at 20%, and banks and gambling operators move to 25%. Chinese companies already working in the country, or about to enter it, need to rerun their pricing, input VAT and profit models, and check separately how dividends and share sales are taxed.