Kazakhstan Has Entered a Whole State of Emergency

On January 5, Kazakstan President Tokayev signed a presidential decree that Kazakhstan entered a state of emergency. Eight military and police officers have been killed until now.

The Central Bank of Kazakhstan has suspended all banking business, CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization and Russia will send peacekeepers to Kazakhstan. 

The direct reason to the Kazakhstan chaos is the price of liquefied petroleum gas. On January 1,2022, the Kazakhstan government made a decision to cancel the price control of liquefied petroleum gas. While most people in Kazakhstan use liquefied petroleum gas as vehicle fuel, so the price of liquefied petroleum gas rose after the government cancel decision released.

For example, in Mangistau state, where broke out the first demonstration, the price of LPG increased from 60 KZT (about 0.88 CNY) per liter to 120 KZT (about 1.47-1.68 CNY ). People dissatisfied with the government's cancellation and began to hold rallies and marches to protest.

At the beginning of 2022, the chaos in Kazakhstan inevitably made us worries about the the Central Asia security situation. Kazakhstan, rich in oil and mineral resources, is an important country in Central Asia and is the member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization and also is a necessary route for the China-EU train. The stability of Kazakhstan will not only affect the regional energy supply, but also affect the economic and trade exchanges between Europe and Asia. We hope that the chaos in Kazakhstan come to stop as soon as possible.