On the afternoon of July 16, 2026, President Xi Jinping met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Xijiao Guesthouse in Shanghai. Tokayev was in China to attend the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance.
During the meeting, Xi noted that the Communist Party of China celebrated its 105th anniversary, with its success attributed to qualities such as pursuing truth and being rooted in the people. Kazakhstan is advancing comprehensive reforms, and China and Kazakhstan should strengthen strategic alignment and enhance practical cooperation to elevate their permanent comprehensive strategic partnership.
On specific cooperation, Xi proposed promoting trade innovation, optimizing trade structure, developing cross-border e-commerce, expanding energy and mineral cooperation with accelerated key project implementation, advancing connectivity by increasing direct flights, sharing digital economy and AI technologies to support Kazakhstan's digital transformation, and deepening cultural exchanges through the "China-Kazakhstan Cultural Exchange Year." He also expressed readiness to jointly implement the four global initiatives and strengthen coordination within multilateral frameworks such as the UN, SCO, and China-Central Asia mechanism.
Tokayev congratulated the CPC's 105th anniversary and China's development achievements, emphasizing that relations with China are Kazakhstan's top foreign policy priority. He fully agreed with Xi's proposals on bilateral relations and expressed readiness to enhance high-level exchanges and cooperation in trade, investment, transportation, energy, agriculture, and digital economy, while promoting people-to-people ties. Tokayev highly commended the four global initiatives and the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, and expressed willingness to maintain collaboration on multilateral platforms and cooperate on global AI governance.
Following the meeting, the two heads of state witnessed the signing and announcement of cooperation documents in areas including economy and trade, transportation, finance, and media. Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi, and Chen Jining attended the event.