More Cooperation Between China, KazakhstanKazakhstan Ambassador to China Kuanysh Sultanov expressed confidence about relations between Kazakhstan and China, predicting rich cooperation between the countries in the coming months of this year.At a press conference held here Friday at the Kazakhstan Embassy, the ambassador said bilateral relations have taken on good momentum since the beginning of this year. In January, the third meeting of State Coordinators of the " Shanghai Five" nations, China, Tajikistan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, was held in Beijing. Participants discussed the planned meetings among the heads of state, premiers, and foreign ministers of the five countries this year and the promotion of the "Shanghai Five" mechanism. Sultanov believes that the "Shanghai Five" summit to be held June in Shanghai will boost not only bilateral ties between Kazakhstan and China but also multi-lateral coordination within the region. In February, Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Erlan Idrisov paid an official visit to China and met with President Jiang Zemin and other Chinese leaders. Ambassador Sultanov believes that the minister's visit will play a positive role in furthering bilateral cooperation in all fields. According to the ambassador, bilateral economic and trade relations have witnessed steady progress over the past years and Kazakhstan has become China's second largest trading partner in the Commonwealth of Independent States and eastern Europe. Last year, the total trade between the two nations hit a record of 1.5 billion US dollars. To mark the 10th anniversary of the forging of Sino-Kazakstan diplomatic relations next year, Kazakhstan and China have reached an agreement to hold art festivals in the respective countries this autumn, according to the ambassador. He also briefed on Kazakhstan's proposal to hold a meeting on mutual coordination and trust in Asia. |
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