Multi-Vector

China's Nuclear Power Play in Kazakhstan Is Accelerating

“The way power operates is by controlling access to resources and the ability to determine who benefits.” Noam Chomsky

Image provided by www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp

In 1949, the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan, inaugurating its status as a nuclear superpower. Over the next four decades, Semipalatinsk became one of the world’s primary nuclear proving grounds, hosting over 450 tests. The vast, remote steppe was transformed into a sprawling military-industrial complex where uranium was extensively mined to fuel the Soviet nuclear arsenal, underpinning the Cold War’s energy and weapons competition.

The environmental and human costs were severe. Local populations endured radiation exposure, leading to long-term health crises and ecological damage. Despite this legacy, Kazakhstan inherited one of the world’s largest uranium reserves after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. The transition to independence initiated a controlled privatization of uranium assets, spinning off major state enterprises and establishing joint ventures with Western firms like Canada’s Cameco and France’s Areva. This was less a free-market overhaul than a managed transfer aimed at attracting foreign capital while retaining state oversight.

Over time, China outmaneuvered traditional players. By securing stakes in uranium mining and processing through China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) joint ventures starting in 2006, Beijing steadily expanded its footprint. This strategic shift moved Kazakhstan’s uranium sector from a multi-vector supplier balancing Russia, the West, and China toward one increasingly aligned with Beijing.

When we last left Kazakhstan’s energy chessboard, the uranium sector was already tilting toward Beijing. Now the shift is structural.