Economy · Kazakhstan · ArchiveChina Tightens Central Asia Grip with $13B in Kazakhstan Deals, Battery PlantAired July 22, 2026 at 2:11 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00While Washington pours billions into an0:01expanding war with Iran, China just0:04signed more than 13 billion dollars in0:06new deals with Kazakhstan, building0:08everything from battery plants to0:09Caspian Sea ports. At the World AI0:11Conference in Shanghai, President Xi0:13Jinping and President Kassym-Jomart0:15Tokayev signed over 70 commercial0:17agreements worth over 13 billion0:19dollars, marking a major escalation in0:21Beijing's grip on Central Asia.0:24The geography tells the story.0:26Kazakhstan sits at the crossroads of the0:28middle corridor trade route, the0:29overland path from China to Europe that0:31bypasses both Russia and conflict zones.0:34Already 85% of all rail freight moving0:36between China and Europe transits0:38through Kazakh territory. These new0:40deals lock China deeper into that0:42artery. The centerpiece deals include0:44Central Asia's first large-scale EV0:46battery plant built by CATL, China's0:48dominant battery manufacturer, and the0:51Chinese firm Guoyao Materials Group will0:53build a new multifunctional terminal at0:54Kuryk Port on the Caspian Sea, capable0:57of handling 15 million tons of cargo0:59annually. The numbers behind the1:01relationship are staggering. Bilateral1:03trade hit a record 49 billion dollars1:05last year. Cumulative Chinese investment1:07now exceeds 30 billion. More than 8,5001:11Chinese-backed companies operate inside1:13Kazakhstan, and this week's agreements,1:15over 70 of them, lock in that trajectory1:17for years to come. But there is an1:19accountability question that goes1:20largely unasked. All of this was signed1:22while American military and diplomatic1:24attention is consumed by the war with1:25Iran. Kazakhstan gains infrastructure1:28and investment from these deals, but it1:29also deepens its dependence on Beijing.1:32China gains strategic economic access to1:34Central Asia's resources and trade1:35routes at a moment when the United1:37States is looking the other way.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗