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In pursuit of SDG Goal 4 – QUALITY EDUCATION, a leadership lecture entitled “Kazakhstan – Key Hub of the Belt and Road: A New Era of Air Cargo Transportation” was held in April 2026 at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) for students of the Logistics programme at the Higher School of Economics and Business. The guest speakers were Mr. Yao Shaojun (Arun) – Vice President of Cross-Border Logistics / General Director of Huayuanhong International Logistics, HPF Co., Ltd., and Adilzhan Guldana – Logistics Manager at the international logistics company Huayuanhong HPF Co., Ltd.

At the opening of the event, the speakers introduced the HPF Group (「Hua PengFei」) – one of the pioneering logistics companies from China to go public on the stock market. The company’s mission is reflected in its name: 「中华鹏城腾飞」– “Connecting the World from Shenzhen.” The Kazakhstani subsidiary HPF KZ LLP, registered in Almaty in December 2024, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the group and specialises in cross-border transportation, air cargo charters, TIR routes connecting China–Central Asia–Europe, as well as warehouse logistics and multimodal supply chain management.

During his presentation, Mr. Yao Shaojun(Arun) highlighted Kazakhstan’s strategic significance in contemporary global logistics. Approximately 15% of global air cargo passes through Kazakhstan’s airspace, and government investment in aviation infrastructure amounts to USD 2.9 billion, with more than 20 airports already modernised. The launch of a national cargo airline is expected in 2026, which will further accelerate the development of air logistics. The speaker particularly emphasised that at this very moment – amid the reorientation of global supply chains driven by the blockage of the Northern Route and the Red Sea crisis – the Middle Corridor (TITR – Trans-Caspian International Transport Route) is recording annual cargo growth exceeding 60%, and Kazakhstan is emerging as China’s first western transit hub on the route to Europe under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Logistics Manager Adilzhan Guldana shared thepractical operational experience of HPF KZ LLP. The company has already completed more than 100 charter cargo flights since October 2025, transporting over 1,000 tonnes of cargo through the airports of Turkestan (HSA) and Aktau (SCO). In 2026, the company plans to expand its route network to include the airports of Almaty and Karaganda. In parallel, TIR truck routes connecting China and Central Asia are being developed using Volvo and Scania tractors, sea transport is being operated through the port of Kuryk–Baku under the TITR framework, and services are being provided at an Almaty warehouse complex offering LTL cargo consolidation. In this way, HPF KZ LLP is building a fully integrated 4D multimodal ecosystem: air, land, sea, and low-altitude.

A dedicated segment of the lecture was devoted to the “low-altitude economy” – one of the most promising directions in global logistics. The volume of this market in China has already reached 1.5 trillion yuan, and by 2035 it is projected to grow to 3.5 trillion yuan. HPF Group is working with the “Beluha W5000” cargo unmanned aerial vehicle – the world’s largest cargo UAV, with a payload capacity of 5 tonnes and a wingspan of 22.7 metres, capable of reducing the unit cost of transportation by 40% or more. Deliveries of the aircraft are scheduledfor the second half of 2026. For students, this direction opens up real career opportunities: unmanned systems management, AI algorithms, airspace management, battery development, and digital twins of logistics processes.

In closing, the speakers addressed the audience with a special message: students of the Logistics programme at KazNU stand at the historic crossroads of the Middle Corridor and the Belt and Road Initiative, and it is their knowledge in the fields of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and international logistics that will shape the industry in the decades to come. HPF Group expressed its readiness to develop a long-term partnership with Kazakhstani youth to jointly write a new chapter of the Silk Road. At the end of the lecture, the participating faculty members and students exchanged questions and answers and held engaging discussions.

Organisers: Head of the Department of Business Technologies Akhmetova Z.B.; academic advisors Baimukhanbetova E.E., Sharapieva M.D., AlikbaevaA.B., Musa Q.A.; first-year master’s students Bedelbek Aizhan, Turap Turar, Tanat Bekzat, Mukametbek Balgyn, Boranbai Zhanar.