- Kazakhstan-China Joint Laboratory for Electrification and Automation inaugurated at Shakarim University, with first equipment handed over by Xi’an Jiaotong University during a Belt and Road Initiative conference.
- The laboratory will drive technological exchange, innovation, smart logistics, and industry modernization, integrated with the Abai regional innovation platform.
- Shakarim Kazakh-Chinese Cultural Research Centre also opened, promoting Kazakh culture and strengthening academic and cultural collaboration between Kazakhstan and China.
The opening ceremony took place in frames of the international conference on scientific and technological exchange within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. Xi’an Jiaotong University presented Shakarim University with a certificate marking the handover of the first batch of equipment for the Kazakhstan-China Joint Laboratory for Electrification and Automation. At the official ceremony, Shakarim Kazakh-Chinese Cultural Research Centre was also opened.
The Kazakh delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Gulzat Kobenova and Rector of Shakarim University Duman Orynbekov. An agreement on the joint laboratory had been signed on June 16, 2025, in Astana during the Central Asia-China Industrial and Investment Cooperation Forum.
“The new laboratory plays an important role in advancing technological exchange and production partnerships between the two countries, accelerating the creation of a single innovation-based economic chain. Its main goal is to foster innovation, modernize industry, and strengthen the link between science and production”, the Ministry’s statement said.
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It will also be involved in research and innovation activities with regards to logistics technologies, offering a smart logistics platform in order to automate and digitally transform the sector. The laboratory will be fully integrated into the Abai regional innovation platform, opening new opportunities for Kazakh engineering science.
"This laboratory is a striking result of the collaboration that turned an idea into real life. Such collaboration in science and technology fully corresponds to the strategy of the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, for innovative development and forming an intellectual nation", said Deputy Minister Kobenova.
Shakarim Cultural Research Center is the first international institutional center to be created for the life and legacy of a prominent Kazakh philosopher, Shakarim Qudaiberdiuly. Its mission is to promote Kazakh culture and further advance academic and cultural cooperation between Kazakhstan and China. As reported earlier, InnoTech University will open in Almaty in partnership with Arizona State University.
