Shandong Port Group (SPG) on Dec 19 signed an MOU with the Kazakhstan Investment Cooperation Agency (KICA) in Qingdao.

Bound together by mountains and rivers and common interests, China and Kazakhstan are good neighbors, good friends and good partners, with solid foundation, great potential and broad space for cooperation. As the trailblazers for promoting the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the two countries have yielded fruitful results. The signing of the MOU has demonstrated the two sides' intentions to promote the cooperation in Port of Aktau, China-Kazakhstan logistics corridor construction and China-Kazakhstan cross-border trade. This has been considered a forceful step forward in establishing a pragmatic cooperation platform and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation.

SPG is located at the intersection of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Since its establishment on Aug 6, 2019, SPG has fully leveraged its role as an international logistics platform to actively serve the BRI. Staying committed to east-west connections and land-sea linkages, SPG has stepped up efforts to establish a multimodal logistics corridor eastwards to Japan, ROK and Asia Pacific, westwards to Central Asia and Europe, southwards to ASEAN and South Asia and northwards to Mongoliaand Russia, which has offered forceful support to the smooth functioning of industrial and supply chains for countries and regions involved in the BRI. Particularly as a significant node for international trade, SPG has established trade connections with over 700 ports in more than 180 countries and regions, thus becoming a significant hub for the connectivity of the BRIand offering convenience and support for the trade exchanges.

KICA serves as Kazakhstan government's important advisory unit and development institution for attracting foreign capitals, who has played a positive role in exchanging information and solving problems between China and Kazakhstan.

Going forward, the two sides will actively participate and integrate into the BRI, and leverage SPG's advantages likeport investment, construction, operations and management, as well as comprehensive logistics, trade, finance, equipment manufacturing and vocational education, combined with Kazakhstan's geographical location, resources, hinterland extension, market potential, position as a hub for the Caspian Sea and new corridor construction. By doing so, they will strengthen collaboration and advantage complementarity, as part of their efforts to make positive contributions to the building of the China-Kazakhstan economic and trade cooperation new pattern in the new area.

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