China-Kazakhstan partnership takes SCO collaboration to a new height

Editor's note: The world is entering a new period of turbulence and change, with issues of concern emerging one after another worldwide. Against this backdrop, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation maintains its position as a comprehensive cooperation grouping which contributes to regional development, peace and stability. With this year's SCO summit to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 3-4, our special series of articles, "Shanghai Spirit in a Chaotic World," looks at the SCO from different perspectives. This is the second article of the series. Decision Makers is a global platform for decision makers to share their insights on events shaping today's world. Shakhrat Nuryshev is the ambassador of Kazakhstan to China. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Kazakhstan took over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in July last year and has so far held more than 140 activities and consultations to prepare for the SCO Summit on July 3-4. This summit, not only of great significance to the SCO but also a historic moment for Kazakhstan, is expected to make a resolution to accept Belarus as the 10th member of the organization.

In addition to the expansion, the summit will also look into regional and international policies, and the turbulent geopolitical and economic situation worldwide. Today's world is entering a new period of turbulence and transformation, with successive international and regional burning issues. However, the SCO has always adhered to its positioning as a comprehensive cooperation organization and has never established itself as a military alliance against any country or as a military institution.

Despite attempts to involve the SCO in such disputes, it has always maintained a balanced stance and made security one of its priority areas of cooperation. Within the framework of the SCO, member states will discuss and provide valuable suggestions on how to jointly combat challenges, including terrorism, separatism, extremism, cyberattacks, organized crime and drug trafficking.

After the summit, the SCO presidency will be transferred from Kazakhstan to China. We look forward to promoting the consensus and results reached at the summit during China's rotating presidency.

Kazakhstan is the birthplace of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and an important partner of it. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt, the overland arm of the BRI, in Kazakh capital Astana. After more than 20 years of development, the SCO has become a regional international organization with significant global influence. Most of its member states are also collaborating with China within the framework of the BRI, making the SCO an important platform for jointly building the BRI.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has repeatedly emphasized at various international forums that Kazakhstan supports the BRI and is ready for further cooperation under its framework. For Kazakhstan, the BRI is of great strategic significance. A landlocked country, Kazakhstan is located at the heart of Eurasia, linking Europe and Asia, the North and South. Taking advantage of transit transportation within its territory, Kazakhstan hopes to gain new opportunities for economic development through the BRI.

Under the framework of the BRI, cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has yielded significant results. Currently, the two countries are constructing the third cross-border railway connecting Ayagoz in Kazakhstan and Tacheng in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. Additionally, they are discussing the possibility of building a fourth railway. These cooperative projects demonstrate the vast prospects and immense potential for collaboration within the BRI framework.

The level of the China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership is unprecedented, marked by mutual trust and high mutual respect. This is largely attributable to head-of-state diplomacy.

Under the strategic leadership of President Xi and President Tokayev, China and Kazakhstan are actively building a bilateral community with a shared future. President Tokayev visited China three times between May last year and March this year, while President Xi is set to attend the SCO summit, marking his fifth visit to the country. The frequent interactions between the two heads of state have injected strong momentum and vitality into the development of bilateral relations.

During President Xi's visit to Kazakhstan in September 2022, he announced the careful crafting of the next golden 30 years of bilateral relations. This signifies that China and Kazakhstan have already successfully traversed three decades of a golden path and are looking forward to an even brighter future.

In recent years, economic cooperation between the two countries has deepened in areas such as energy, transportation, investment, and finance, while cultural and people-to-people exchanges have also expanded. These efforts give us reason to believe that the next golden 30 years of China-Kazakhstan relations will be mutually beneficial, with the good-neighborly friendship and mutual respect between the two countries developing further.

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