Kazakh man says more Chinese vehicles are running on streets in his hometown

Photo shows vehicles to be exported at Lianyungang Port in Lianyungang city, east China's Jiangsu Province. (People's Daily Online/Fan Yao)

A total of 2,719 domestically produced vehicles were being loaded on a ship on July 27 at a terminal of Dongfang Port Branch of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port Co., Ltd. in Lianyungang city, east China's Jiangsu Province. The vehicles are scheduled to be sent to countries along the Belt and Road.

In the meantime, as a display in the digital dispatch center of the China-Kazakhstan Logistics Cooperation Base in Lianyungang showed, domestically produced passenger cars were to be sent to Central Asian countries through Kazakhstan's Khorgos Eastern-Gate land port, which is more than 4,000 kilometers away from Lianyungang.

Photo shows a Kazakh man, whose Chinese name is Ma Hejiang. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

"My hometown is Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. In the city, there are more and more Chinese cars running on streets, and many 4S stores selling Chinese cars. Ten years ago, Chinese cars were not common in the city," said a Kazakh man whose Chinese name is Ma Hejiang.

Ma attributed the change to the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative.

After obtaining a master's degree at Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University in northwest China's Shaanxi Province in 2020, Ma went back to Astana to engage in the logistics industry.

In September 2022, he became a translator of the China-Kazakhstan Logistics Cooperation Base in Lianyungang.

In January 2023, Ma made a business trip to Astana, where he saw many Chinese cars running on the streets.

Photo shows Kazakhstan's Khorgos Eastern-Gate land port. (Photo/Yang Kailin)

Chen Yong, who is the deputy general manager of Kazakhstan's Khorgos Eastern-Gate land port, is stationed in Kazakhstan, and said Chinese cars arrive at the port almost every day. "On July 24, more than 400 cars bound for Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and other countries arrived at the port," Chen said.

In the first half of this year, 169,800 vehicles were exported through Lianyungang Port, a year-on-year increase of 106 percent, according to Nanjing Customs.

Chen said commodities made in China are known for their cost-effectiveness in Kazakhstan.

"Many Kazakh people like to use smart phones made by China's telecom giant Huawei and tires made in China. Baby toys made in China account for more than half of the local market, and many women's bags sold in the local market are also from China," said Chen.