Kazakhstan and China Reaffirm Invariable Course of Strategic Partnership
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Beibut Atamkulov, paid an official visit to the People’s Republic of China. During the visit, the Foreign Minister held bilateral talks with Member of the State Council and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Wang Yi.
The sides discussed topical issues related to the further development of Kazakh-Chinese cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian fields, and exchanged views on a wide range of issues on the international agenda.
Given the internal political changes in Kazakhstan, Mr. Atamkulov informed the Chinese side about the invariability of the country’s foreign policy and the fulfillment of its international obligations. “We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening and deepening the relations of a new stage of the comprehensive strategic partnership,” the Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan said. He also stressed that “relations between Kazakhstan and China are an example of mutually beneficial and effective cooperation”.
In turn, the Chinese side commended the historical role of the First President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, in establishing a comprehensive Kazakhstan-China strategic partnership, deepening cooperation in the joint construction of the Belt and Road initiative.
As part of the visit, an emphasis was made on practical cooperation between the two countries within interregional and cross-border partnership, as well as in the industrial investment sphere, digitalization and technological modernization of the economy. Considerable attention was paid to the effective convergence of the Belt and Road initiative with the Nurly Zhol New Economic Policy and the integration programs of the Eurasian Economic Union.
In addition, the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and China discussed cooperation within international organizations and integration associations, such as the UN, SCO, CICA, ensuring stability and security in Central Asia, and exchanged views on transboundary water issues.
The sides paid particular attention to the situation with ethnic Kazakhs living in China. The sides stressed mutual interest in resolving emerging issues through working contacts between the foreign ministries of the two countries and reached an agreement to intensify consular services.
Following the talks, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the two foreign ministries for 2020-2022.
The Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan also held talks with the Minister of Commerce of China, Zhong Shan, and discussed issues related to trade and economic cooperation.
The Chinese side was informed about the new functions and powers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan in the field of implementation of the state policy on investment and export promotion.
China is the largest foreign trade partner of Kazakhstan, with the volume of trade between the countries increasing significantly. In this regard, it was proposed to develop a roadmap to enhance trade relations between Kazakhstan and China, which would regulate the expansion of the trading area, optimization of the structure of trade, increase in the scale of trade, as well as increase in the share of high-tech products in bilateral trade.
As part of the visit, Minister Atamkulov laid flowers at the monument of Kazakh writer Abay in the Central Beijing Park and took part in the ceremony of awarding Chinese sculptor Yuan Xikun with the medal “25 years of Independence of Kazakhstan”.
