ABSTRACT
Kazakhstan, being in the centre of the Eurasian continent, is a landlocked country that shares a border both with China and Russia. Since its independence in 1991, Kazakhstan has attempted to take advantage of its geographical location, by becoming a bridge between Europe and China. To achieve this goal, Kazakhstan has actively participated in the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as one of the founding countries. These activities have brought Kazakhstan not only the opportunity to become a transport and logistics hub but also to reduce its dependence on Russian infrastructure. In the light of the current war in Ukraine, the transportation of goods through the territory of Kazakhstan becomes more crucial to China as it can bypass Russia. Though the SREB has enabled Kazakhstan to export more resources and become more independent from Russian infrastructure, same time, China might become a threat to Kazakhstan's economic independence, as it will be more connected to the Chinese infrastructure. This chapter also shows that during the COVID-19 pandemic, China's economic policy in Kazakhstan is evolving. China now spends less on large infrastructure projects and focuses more on Kazakhstan's raw materials. This study aims to take a comprehensive look at Kazakhstan's relationship with China, as well as the implications of the SREB for Kazakhstan and its transport capacity. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.