The upcoming meeting between the heads of state of Kazakhstan and China will benefit peoples of the two countries, and the agreements to be reached will open a new chapter in the Kazakhstan-China permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in an interview with the Xinhua news agency.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived on a state visit to Kazakhstan on July 2 and will attend the 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana on July 3-4.
“We look forward to President Xi’s visit and believe it will inject powerful impetus into the development momentum of bilateral ties,” Tokayev said in the interview.
In his words, the Kazakhstan-China relationship is built upon strong bonds of solid friendship and good neighborliness, and bilateral cooperation embarked on a new “golden 30 years” during Xi’s visit to Kazakhstan in September 2022.
Over the past year alone, a number of important agreements have been sealed, including the implementation of a mutual visa-free policy, the construction of a third railway checkpoint, the establishment of cultural centers, and the announcement of 2024 as the “Kazakhstan Tourism Year” in China, noted Tokayev.
“We share similar positions with China on many pressing global and regional issues, and Kazakhstan fully supports the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and stands ready to actively participate in the ongoing integration of our national development strategies,” he said.
The Kazakh president called for promoting cooperation in five key areas, namely deepening investment cooperation, increasing bilateral trade turnover, strengthening Belt and Road cooperation, expanding transport cooperation, and fostering cultural and people-to-people interaction.
Speaking of Kazakhstan’s rotating chairmanship of the SCO, Tokayev vowed to make an effort to develop common approaches to solving security problems, strengthen trade and economic cooperation, promote environmental protection, and consolidate friendship between member countries.
He also said his nation aims to further strengthen the organization’s international influence by expanding its contacts with major international and regional organizations.
