The China-Kazakhstanโrelationship has transformedโfrom a comprehensive strategic partnership to a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership.
Summary: China and Kazakhstan have cultivated a strong relationship, evolving from a comprehensive strategic partnership to a permanent one. President Xi Jinping is paying a state visit to Kazakhstan and attending the SCO Summit, marking his fifth visit to the country. The historical ties between the two nations, including the ancient Silk Road and recent mutual support during disasters, underscore the enduring friendship. The countries have achieved significant success in trade, infrastructure projects, and cultural exchanges, and are committed to further cooperation in various sectors. President Xi’s visit aims to strengthen political trust, deepen economic cooperation, promote cultural exchanges, and navigate global challenges, enhancing the everlasting friendship between China and Kazakhstan.
DATE: 2024-07-02
Xi Jinping: President of the Peopleโs Republic of China
All beings are flourishing in the height of summer. I will soon payโa state visit to Kazakhstan and attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)โSummit in this vibrant season at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. This will be my fifth visit to yourโcountryโas the President of the Peopleโs Republic of China. Kazakhstanโs enchanting land, its splendid and distinctive culture, its vast andโmagnificent landscape,โandโitsโnice and friendlyโpeopleโhave been most impressive.โThe visit offers me an opportunity to experience first hand theโnew progress and new changesโthat have been madeโin Kazakhstan. I look forward to meeting withโPresident Tokayevโto plan the way forward for closer China-Kazakhstan cooperation and draw a new blueprint for furtherโgrowthโof China-Kazakhstan relations and the SCO.
Over 2,000 years ago, Zhang Qian, a royal emissaryโfrom China led a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions, openingโthe door to friendship and exchanges between China and Central Asia. Theโancient Silk Road,โof which Zhang was a pioneer, contributed to the friendly exchangesโand mutual learning between our two great nations. Over 80 years ago, Chinese musician Xian Xinghai andโKazahk composer Bakhtzhan Baikadamovโmetโand came to know each other in Almaty. They soon became bosom friends and devoted brothers despite their different nationalities. Thirty-two years ago, China was among the first countries to recognize Kazakhstanโs independence. China-Kazakhstanโrelations have since embarked on a new journey. Theโhistory of China-Kazakhstanโfriendly exchanges isโa strong testament to the fact thatโthe development of our bilateral relationship conforms to the trend of history and that of our times.
It was in Kazakhstanโelevenโyears ago that Iโfirstโproposed the initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt, which was warmly received by people from different sectors in Kazakhstan. This marked aโmagnificent chapter inโBelt and Road cooperation between ourโtwo countries. And the development of China-Kazakhstanโrelations have since entered a new stage.
Our two countriesโhaveโalways supported each other and have always been partners in times of challenge. Our mutual political trustโhas reached a new level.โThe China-Kazakhstanโrelationship has madeโa leapโfrom a comprehensive strategic partnership to a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. The two countries have agreed on the vision ofโbuilding a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future defined by lasting friendship, a high degree of mutual trust and sharing weal and woe. Weโhave rendered each other firm supportโon issuesโthat bear on our respective core interests and are of major concern to us. Weโrespectโtheโdevelopment pathโthat each has chosen according toโour respectiveโnational conditions. We have always been trustworthy and reliable partners and would invariably extend a helping hand and do our utmost to support each other when we were hit by disasters like floods and pandemics. Suchโunbreakable mutual trust and support are invaluable, forming the strongest politicalโcornerstoneโthat underpinsโour bilateral cooperation.
Our two countriesโhaveโalways pursued mutual benefit, win-win and coordinated development, achieving new success in results-oriented cooperation. Last year, our two-way trade registeredโa recordโhigh ofโUS$41 billion. China isโnowโKazakhstanโs largest trading partnerโandโits top export destination. Major strategic projects including the Zhanatas wind farm, Turgusun hydropower station, and the modernization of Shymkent Oil Refinery have beenโcompleted and commissioned.โChina-Kazakhstan crude oil and natural gas pipelinesโare operatingโin aโsafe and stable manner. The โgreen lanesโ for fastโcustoms clearance of agricultural products are available at all border portsโbetween the two countries, which makesโgreenโagri-productsโof high qualityโfrom Kazakhstanโeasily accessible for Chinese consumers. The potential for cooperation in new energy and transportation infrastructureโhas beenโunleashed. The transport and logistics terminalโin Xiโan, the Western Europe-Western China Highway, and the China-Europe Railway Expressโall operate smoothly, providing a strong boost to the development of both China and Kazakhstan.
Our two countriesโhave always helped and learned from each other and witnessed a new upsurge in people-to-people and cultural exchanges.โA China-Kazakhstanโagreement on mutual establishment of cultural centers has been signed. Chinese and Kazakh filmmakers have co-produced a film entitled โThe Composer,โ which is their first co-production. Our bilateral programs for culturalโcooperation, including a Chinese university campus in Kazakhstan, aโLuban Workshop, and aโcenter of traditional Chinese medicine, have been fully implemented. These institutions are now up and running. Thanks to our mutual visa-exemptionโarrangements, ourโpeople can visit each other as frequently as relatives do. Last year, a total of 600,000โcross-border trips were recorded. In the first quarter of this year, the number of visits in both directions amounted toโ200,000โand are expected to reach a new high. Subnational cooperation isโalso booming, with the number of sister citiesโincreasing toโ26 pairs. The much respected and lauded ophthalmologist Dr. Saulebek Kabibekov, the โpanda-manโ Ruslan Tulenov, who voluntarily donated his rare type of blood in China, and the immensely popular singer Dimash Kudaibergenโhave become China-Kazakhstanโfriendshipโenvoys in the new era.
Our two countriesโhaveโalways worked together in response to various challenges, and our coordination and collaboration at the international level has achieved new andโtangible results. China and Kazakhstan hold similar positionsโon international and regional affairs. Bothโcountries champion the vision of common, comprehensive cooperative and sustainable security. And both are committed to acting asโa world peaceโbuilder, a global developmentโcontributor, and anโinternational orderโdefender. We have jointly createdโaโChina-Central Asia cooperation mechanism, and maintained close coordination and collaboration in the United Nations, the SCO, and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, among other multilateral organizations. We have actively supported each otherโs constructive proposals for international cooperation, andโtaken resolute measures toโsafeguard our shared strategic, security, and development interests.
Chinaโand Kazakhstan can and will accomplish a great deal in bilateral cooperation inโthe years to come.โI hope my visit will help renew our traditional friendshipโandโdeepenโthe all-round cooperationโbetween our countries. During my visit, President Tokayevโand I willโmeet and plan the way forward for further growth of China-Kazakhstan relationsโand discuss how best to take the China-Kazakhstanโpermanent comprehensive strategic partnershipโto new heights.
First, our two countriesโneed to further consolidate ourโpolitical tradition of mutual support.โAsโa Chinese saying goes, โWe must be people of our word in dealing with friends.โโChina will continue to treat our Kazakh friends with sincerity and engage themโwith trust. China will work with Kazakhstan to further consolidate mutualโpolitical trust, strengthen strategic communication,โand firmly supportโeach otherโon issues that bear onโour respective core interests and are of major concern to us. As always, China will support Kazakhstan in upholding itsโindependence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,โinโcontinuing on the development path suited to its national conditions, in implementing domestic and foreign policies in the interest ofโits development and prosperity, andโin opposingโinterference in its internal affairsโby any external forces. Our two countries need toโalways follow the four principles that hold key to the successโof our cooperation, namely,โmutual respect, good neighborly friendship, solidarity in trying times, and mutual benefit, so as to ensure sustained and steadyโgrowthโof China-Kazakhstan relations.
Second, our two countries need to stayโcommitted to the golden rule of mutual benefit and win-win in our cooperation.โChina and Kazakhstan have different yet complementary resource endowmentsโand industries. This offers huge potentialโfor cooperation. China stands ready to promoteโgreater synergy between Belt and Road cooperation and the economic policies underโaโJust Kazakhstanโat a faster pace, and further openโour super-sized market to Kazakhstanโso that our Kazakh friends can share the opportunitiesโof ourโdevelopment. Our two countries need to deepen cooperation in traditional sectorsโincluding business, trade, industrial capacity, investment, energy, mining and agriculture, and enhance the efficiency of customs clearance at border ports. We need toโensure the high-quality operation of the China-Europe Railway Express, advance theโconstructionโof the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, and make theโnetwork connectingโour two countriesโmore multidimensional, diverseโandโefficient. We need to significantly unleash the potentialโfor cooperation in such high-tech areas as new energy,โthe digital economy, artificial intelligence, cross-border e-commerce, aviation and aerospace, and build more industrial and supply chains with high added-values, in order to inject new impetus to our cooperation.
Third, our two countries need to strengthenโpublic support forโan everlasting China-Kazakhstanโfriendship.โA deeperโand stronger China-Kazakhstan friendship is whatโour two peoplesโaspire to. It is therefore importantโthat weโcarry forward suchโfriendship and enhance mutual understanding and affinity between our peoples through a diverse range of cultural and people-to-people exchange programs. Our two countries need to ensure the success of the Luban Workshop, Confucius Institutes,โand the Kazakh campusโof the Northwestern Polytechnical Universityโto foster future generations who willโcarry forward the China-Kazakhstan friendship.โChina welcomes joint education programs and joint research projects between Chinese and Kazakh higher education institutions, think tanks and research institutes. China supports closer interactions between people from all sectorsโacross Chinese and Kazakh societies. Both countries need to encourage more twinning between ourโprovinces and citiesโand more cooperation on education, tourism,โarchaeology, arts,โand media, so as to expand the depth and scope of China-Kazakhstan cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
Fourth, our two countries need to be responsive toโthe accelerated changes on a scale unseen in a century that are unfolding across the world.โChanges and turbulence inโthe global landscape poseโnew threats and new challenges, but also bringโnew opportunities andโcreate new possibilities forโall-round cooperation of mutual benefit between China and Kazakhstan. We Chinese believe that in every challenge lies an opportunity,โand that challenges and opportunities are interchangeable.โChina stands ready to join hands withโKazakhstan in response toโthe changesโof historic significance that are taking placeโin ourโworldโand in our times. We need to foster newโopportunities amid crises, and open up new horizons on a shifting landscape. China will work with Kazakhstan to uphold the international system with the United Nationsโat its core and the international order underpinned by international law, act on true multilateralism, oppose hegemonism, power politics and bloc confrontation. We will work together toโbuild an equal and orderly multipolar world, promoteโuniversally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and bring about more positivityโand certainty to world peace and stability.
Another important item on my agenda in Kazakhstan is to attend the SCOโSummit. China highly commends the successfulโand fruitfulโwork Kazakhstan has doneโin its capacity as the SCO chairโto grow the influence of the organization. I have no doubt thatโthe SCO Astana Summit willโbe a great successโthrough concerted efforts of all parties and will help rallyโthe SCO familyโcloserโand openโup new prospects for SCO cooperation.
As a Chinese saying goes, โSuccess comes to those who share in one purpose.โTriumph belongs to those who pull together in times of challenge.โโIn Kazakhstan, people sayโthat five fingers held together make a powerful fist, and many people working in unity form a mighty force.
China will work shoulder-to-shoulderโwith Kazakhstan on theโpath to national prosperity and rejuvenation. Let us jointly drawโupโa new blueprintโfor closer cooperation and open aโnew chapterโinโChina-Kazakhstan friendly relations.