Chinese premier meets Kazakh PM, calls for enhanced cooperation

Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov in Shanghai on Monday. Bektenov is in China to attend the 7th China International Import Expo.

Li said that since establishing diplomatic ties more than 30 years ago, China and Kazakhstan have always respected each other and treated each other as equals, setting a good example of good-neighborly friendship and mutual benefits between neighboring countries.

He said China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, deepen political mutual trust, firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, continue to expand mutually beneficial cooperation and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

Li said China is willing to strengthen the docking of development strategies with Kazakhstan, take high-quality Belt and Road cooperation as the guide, continue to expand bilateral trade, consolidate production capacity and investment cooperation, create highlights in energy and mineral cooperation, enhance the level of connectivity and push for more practical results.

He called on the two countries to jointly work for the success of the Year of Chinese Tourism in Kazakhstan next year, strengthen cooperation in culture, education, sub-national and other fields, and enhance mutual understanding and amity between the two peoples.

China stands ready to coordinate closely with Kazakhstan within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the China-Central Asia mechanism, actively implement the three global initiatives, practice genuine multilateralism, safeguard economic globalization and free trade, and promote the development of global governance toward a more just and equitable direction, Li said.

Noting that in recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, Kazakhstan-China relations have reached a record high, Bektenov said Kazakhstan attaches great importance to its relations with China and is willing to further strengthen high-level exchanges with China, deepen cooperation on trade, investment, agriculture, transportation, science and technology, culture and education, and strengthen connectivity under the framework of Belt and Road cooperation.

Bektenov said Kazakhstan welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in Kazakhstan and is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with China within multilateral frameworks such as the SCO and the China-Central Asia mechanism.