Chinese president wraps up visit to Kazakhstan

Chinese President Xi Jinping left Astana Saturday morning for home after his state visit to Kazakhstan and attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 17th meeting of Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017.[Photo: Xinhua]

During the visit, Xi and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev held talks on Thursday and mapped out future cooperation between the two countries, especially in seeking synergy between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Kazakhstan's new economic policy of the "Nurly Zhol," or "Bright Path."

The two countries agreed to focus on cross-border connectivity and that China will share its transportation advantages on land and by sea with the world's biggest landlocked country to turn Kazakhstan into a key hub for transportation on the Eurasia continent.

According to a joint statement signed between the two countries, China and Kazakhstan will work to develop more international cargo train services, starting from China via Kazakhstan to Central Asia, Europe and Gulf countries, and to effectively lower logistic cost, making railway freight a major solution for cargo transportation between Asia and Europe by 2025.

Speaking at the SCO summit in Astana on Friday, the Chinese president called on member states to strengthen solidarity and cooperation as the organization expanded membership to include India and Pakistan, a move that will boost the bloc's development potential.

Xi proposed that the SCO draw up a five-year outline for implementation of the Treaty on Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation and formulate a three-year program of cooperation to fight the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism.

China took over the rotating chair of the SCO after the Astana summit and will host its next summit in June 2018.

Founded in 2001, the SCO now has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as its full members, with Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia as observers, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey as dialogue partners.

During his stay in Astana, Xi also attended the opening ceremony of Expo 2017.