Clean energy cooperation beneficial to both countries

Energy has been a pillar of relations between China and Central Asian countries for 30 years, with cooperation in this sector evolving from crude oil to petrochemicals, hydrocarbons and renewable energy.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, China and Kazakhstan have agreed to support each other’s economic entities by implementing a number of energy cooperation projects, said Usen Suleimen, a senior Kazakh diplomat.

The largest Chinese investments, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, are in the construction of solar and wind power plants in Kazakhstan.

Chinese companies such as Universal Energy, Risen Energy and State Power Investment Corp have become major investors in solar and wind farms in the country.

For Maksat Abilgaziev, such cooperation changed his life.

He lived in Zhanatas, a small town in southern Kazakhstan where the wind blows all year round. He used to be an electrical engineer at a local phosphate mine.

Žanatas was once a centre for phosphate mining and fertiliser production, but the decline of industry has resulted in massive job losses.

Abilgaziev said he was impressed when the first turbine of the city’s 100-megawatt wind project arrived, its 60-meter-long blades covering an area the size of the London Eye.

He said he believes the future of his hometown and Kazakhstan lies in clean energy, especially wind power. So in 2020, the 30-year-old became a trainee responsible for the maintenance and repair of wind turbines at a wind farm and learned about related maintenance work from Chinese experts.

Rinat Turganbekov works at the Kapchagay photovoltaic power plant, one of the largest solar projects in Kazakhstan.

The power plant is part of the China-Kazakhstan green energy cooperation initiative, jointly invested and built by Universal Energy and its Kazakh counterparts.

As a senior employee of Universal Energy Kazakhstan, Turganbekov has witnessed the extraordinary transformation that solar power plants have brought to the country, providing green and affordable electricity to its residents.

Meanwhile, under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a series of joint efforts aimed at sustainable development are opening a new chapter of mutual benefits and win-win cooperation.

“Chinese companies have brought significant changes to my life,” said the 36-year-old, who studied in Tianjin and is fluent in Chinese.

Initially working for the company as a translator, during his tenure Chinese colleagues encouraged him to get involved in project coordination.

During his five years of working for the Chinese company, Torganbekov saw his income grow, which allowed him to buy a house in Almaty.

“Thanks to Chinese companies starting to build solar and wind farms, residents of southern regions that have historically lacked electricity no longer have to struggle with electricity shortages,” he added.