Xi calls for strengthened strategic coordination between China, Kazakhstan

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is here for the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping said Sunday that China is willing to strengthen strategic coordination and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with Kazakhstan. 

Xi made the remarks when meeting with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is in Beijing to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Noting this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Kazakhstan, Xi said China is willing to work with the neighbor in pushing their comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level and broader domain.

He called on the two sides to strengthen law enforcement cooperation and crack down on the forces of separatism, terrorism and extremism. 

China supports Kazakhstan in playing a bigger role in affairs related to international peace and security, and is willing to deepen cooperation under the frameworks of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, Xi said.

Xi proposed the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in Kazakhstan and Indonesia respectively in 2013, which later evolved into the Belt and Road Initiative. 

The initiative has won support from more than 100 countries and international organizations, including Kazakhstan, Xi said, noting that, in the past four years, China and Kazakhstan cooperated actively on joint Belt and Road projects.

Xi added that China is willing to work with Kazakhstan on the Belt and Road for the benefit of the people of the two nations.

Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan firmly supports the Belt and Road Initiative, and will actively align it with the nation's Bright Road initiative. 

Kazakhstan is willing to deepen cooperation with China in such areas as trade, agriculture, mining industry, railway, and technology, he said, adding that it wants to closely cooperate with China on international and regional security and development issues, and boost the development of the SCO.