Vice minister of finance explains why Kazakhstani and Chinese statistics don’t match

According to Vice Minister of Finance Dauren Temirbekov, Kazakhstani and Chinese statistics on goods turnover don’t match each other because the two countries use different methodologies. This is why the difference in statistics is unavoidable, he explained to the Senate, the upper house of Kazakhstan’s parliament.

«There is a positive trend in terms of mirror statistics with China. For example, in 2018, the difference rate was 52.5%; in 2023, the rate was just 32%. This is about $7.9 million in terms of money. We are seeing a downward trend,» Temirbekov underlined.

As the official noted, the main differences are related to the methodology of export accounting and the frequency of data transmission. Imports are accounted in the country of origin, while exports are accounted in the country of destination. Even though the Ministry of Finance has been trying to get rid of some factors affecting statistics, it is impossible to avoid the difference in trading data with China or any other state, the vice minister emphasized.

The turnover between Kazakhstan and China rose by 30% in 2023, reaching $31.5 billion. Over the first nine months, the volume of Chinese investments in Kazakhstan’s economy reached around $1.4 billion. As of mid-March 2024, there were 45 joint Kazakhstani-Chinese projects bound to be implemented, worth a total of $14.5 billion.

According to Yeldos Saudabayev, head of the State Revenue Committee, the difference in statistics between China’s exports and Kazakhstan’s imports declined twofold to 32.7% over the period from 2017 to mid-2023. In 2022, the difference rate was 32.9%. From 2017 to 2021, the rate was 59.4%, 52.5%, 47%, 45.5% and 40.5%, respectively, the committee’s data showed.