Chinese FM holds talks with Kazakh counterpart

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi, who is in China for the second China + Central Asia (C+C5) foreign ministers meeting, in Xi'an, capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Wei Xiang)

XI'AN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China and Kazakhstan on Wednesday agreed to promote their permanent comprehensive strategic partnership and work together to benefit the peoples of the two countries.

The agreement came as Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi on the sideline of the second meeting of the China + Central Asia (C+C5) foreign ministers meeting in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Noting the "unique" and "unprecedented" relationship between the two countries, Wang said the two sides should fully implement the strategic consensus reached by the two heads of state, while maintaining and developing the hard-won relations for the benefit of the two peoples.

Wang called on the two sides to keep promoting the joint construction of the Belt and Road with a high level of quality, dovetail their respective cooperative plans, and actively promote the synergy of China's 14th five-year plan with the Kazakhstan 2025 development strategy to promote a higher level of bilateral cooperation that is deeper and more diversified.

Wang commended Kazakhstan's contributions to the holding of the second meeting of C+C5 foreign ministers meeting, and expressed China's willingness to coordinate with Kazakhstan under multilateral frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and the United Nations.

He highlighted the role of such coordination in firmly safeguarding multilateralism and rejecting unilateralism, bullying practices and interference in other countries' domestic affairs on the pretext of human rights issues.

Tleuberdi said Kazakhstan firmly supports China on safeguarding its core interests and opposing interference in China's domestic affairs.

He said that Kazakhstan hopes the two sides can enhance the synergy of its new economic policy with the Belt and Road, and sign cooperative plans on trade and economics as soon as possible, deepening collaboration on interconnectivity, capacity, investment and local cooperation.

Kazakhstan hopes to host the C+C5 foreign ministers meeting in 2022 and will promote this mechanism for securing further achievements, Tleuberdi said.