China and Kazakhstan have been cooperating in many areas, especially under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. Infrastructure, agriculture and transportation are among industries that businesses from both countries are cooperating on. Now, with a major agreement between China bus giant Golden Dragon Bus and Astana Motors - Chinese buses will soon be frequently seen on the streets of Kazakhstan. CGTN's Michal Bardavid has the details.

At the end of 2018, China's Golden Dragon Bus company signed an agreement with Astana Motors to manufacture their buses in Kazakhstan.

MICHAL BARDAVID TURKISTAN "The Kazakh government hopes to increase local production. With that intention in mind – the Development Bank of Kazakhstan is offering a special low interest loan rate of 3 percent to customers of Astana motors who want to buy the Chinese Golden Dragon Buses because they are locally manufactured here in Almaty."

The buses have three engine powers options, diesel, gas and electric and comply with international standard requirements such as the Euro-5.

Golden Dragon Bus officials also explain that the use of monocoque technology gives the brand a competitive advantage.

SAULET KASSYMKHANOV SALES DIRECTOR GOLDEN DRAGON BUS CENTRAL ASIA "The external bus structure is made of high quality light metal. This lightens the weight of the bus, and also it helps the efficiency of the engine and the transmission of the bus."

Astana Motors also provides their customers with after-sales maintenance support.

GAYEV ADILBEK SALES DIRECTOR ASTANA MOTORS "The mobile service also, has a lot of advantages, it's our vehicle, we can offer on our vehicle we send our team of our mechanics, and we can make service anytime anywhere. So, and the other option is when the customer is purchasing our buses, we can provide them the main spare parts for 100,000 kilometers, it's very important really."

The Golden Dragon Bus officials also stress that their vehicles are manufactured to fit everyone's needs, including people with disabilities. With a starting price of approximately eighty-four thousand dollars, Astana Motors and Golden Dragon Buses believe they are putting a high-quality, cost-effective bus on the Kazakhstan market. Michal Bardavid, CGTN, Almaty.