On September 1, Yan Weihua, Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of China National Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. (CNEEC), met with Erlan Akkenzhenov, Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, in China for the SCO Summit. The two sides held friendly talks and agreed to advance practical cooperation in the energy sector. 

During the meeting, Yan Weihua said that since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), CNEEC has followed the strategic pace of China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach) to expand the landscape of overseas industrial development, amassing rich experience in thermal, hydro, solar, wind power and industrial parks and building benchmark projects. He pointed out that the new energy sector sits at the heart of the global energy transition. Kazakhstan is the place where the BRI was first launched, and its needs for green energy development highly align with CNEEC’s strengths. Looking ahead, CNEEC is willing to leverage its strengths in technology, resources, and experience, participate in the construction of Kazakhstan’s green energy industry, and help the country optimize its energy structure.

Yerlan Akkenzhenov highly praised CNEEC’s achievements in the global energy sector. He said that Kazakhstan has the pivotal position of the Belt and Road, as well as superior geographical location and good transportation infrastructure. The country is pushing ahead with energy transition and urgently needs green energy projects. With their proven expertise in developing new energy technology and building and running projects, Chinese companies are important partners for Kazakhstan in energy cooperation. He looked forward to further communication with CNEEC, which would turn the cooperation into concrete projects without delay.

At the end of the meeting, the two sides discussed potential cooperation projects and reached preliminary consensus. In the next step, they will set up a professional team for efficient project delivery, bringing fresh momentum and a new start to energy cooperation between China and Kazakhstan under the BRI.

Other attendees included Talgat Karashev, Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan, Qin Haiyan, Secretary General of the Chinese Wind Energy Association, and relevant personnel from CNEEC.