BEIJING, July 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- China and Kazakhstan have always
supported each other and have always been partners in times of
challenges, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a signed article
in the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper and Kazinform International
News Agency on Tuesday.
Xi is on his fifth visit to Kazakhstan, where he was not only welcomed by
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the airport but also
treated to a blue carpet – the color of the Kazakh national flag
hailed by Kazakhs as symbolizing the friendship between
China and Kazakhstan – and a group of Kazakh students
singing the Chinese song "Ode to the Motherland."
The visit is also Xi's second visit in less than two years,
following his previous state visit in September 2022. In addition, Xi and Tokayev met
in Beijing in October 2023.
The friendly relations between China and Kazakhstan are rooted in the millennia-old
ancient Silk Road, reinforced by 32 years of cooperation after the
establishment of diplomatic relations, and have reached the high
level of a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said
during his meeting with Tokayev on Wednesday.
Since China and Kazakhstan established diplomatic ties in
1992, the two countries have steadily strengthened their
relationship, first to a strategic partnership in 2005, then a
comprehensive strategic partnership in 2011 and a permanent
comprehensive strategic partnership in 2019.
The deepening mutual trust and political ties between
China and Kazakhstan have been accompanied by remarkable
growth in their trade and economic cooperation over the past three
decades.
China was Kazakhstan's largest trading partner in 2023,
with two-way trade up by 32 percent year-on-year to reach
$41 billion. Key exports from
Kazakhstan to China include crude oil, metals and
agricultural products. China, in
turn, has supplied Kazakhstan with
machinery, electronics and consumer goods, according to Kazakh
government data.
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to
China Shakhrat Nuryshev singled out the Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI) in the increasingly expanding bilateral trade and investment
cooperation between the two countries in an interview with People's
Daily.
From the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation
Base, the first project inaugurated under the BRI in 2014, to the
Western China-Western Europe Highway, both countries have been
pushing for closer connectivity by developing road and railway
transport. Besides, recently completed and commissioned ventures
such as the Zhanatas wind farm and the Turgusun hydropower station
underscored both countries' determination to develop low-carbon
economies through renewable energy programs.
China and Kazakhstan will continuously deepen
cooperation in traditional areas like trade, investment,
interconnectivity and energy, Xi said during a joint meeting with
the press with Tokayev on Wednesday.
Noting that China and
Kazakhstan have set a new goal of
doubling two-way trade at an early date, Xi added that both sides
will also jointly foster new growth points for cooperation in
critical minerals, scientific and technological innovation,
aerospace, digital economy and other fields.
In the past years, China and
Kazakhstan have also deepened
cultural and people-to-people exchanges. For example, bilateral
programs for cultural cooperation, including a Luban Workshop and a
center of traditional Chinese medicine, have been implemented. In
March, Kazakhstan Tourism Year was officially launched in
China.
On Wednesday, Xi and Tokayev unveiled the Beijing Language and
Culture University branch at the Astana International University.
To further enhance people-to-people exchanges, Xi told reporters
that China has decided to open the
second Luban Workshop in the Central Asian country and will hold
China Tourism Year in Kazakhstan
in 2025.
Besides enhancing bilateral ties, Xi also said China supports Kazakhstan in joining the BRICS cooperation
mechanism, playing the role of a "middle power" on the
international stage and making its due contribution to global
governance.
Xi added that China and
Kazakhstan have pledged to
continue working closely in international affairs and strengthen
coordination and cooperation within the framework of the United
Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the
China-Central Asia mechanism as well as other multilateral
frameworks.
Xi said he believes Thursday's Astana summit will be a complete
success and bring the SCO to a new level of development.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-07-03/China-Kazakhstan-cherish-friendly-ties-vow-further-cooperation-1uWoBOrQ53y/p.html
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