Kazakh, Chinese Presidents hold press briefing
The Presidents of Kazakhstan and China, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Xi Jinping, made a joint statement for mass media following bilateral talks, Kazinform News Agency cites Akorda.
During the briefing for media outlets, Kazakh leader Tokayev extended sincere gratitude to Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping for accepting the invitation to pay a state visit to Kazakhstan.
Indeed, your present visit is a truly remarkable event in the history of Kazakh-Chinese relations. I believe that it’s vivid evidence of your commitment to bringing the bilateral cooperation to a new level. For my part, I fully share and support your noble pursuit. Our relations with China are based on the principles of good-neighborliness, friendship and eternal multilateral strategic partnership. I’d like to highlight that we consider them as shared values and a common stance of the two countries. It’s true that the contacts between Kazakhstan and China have deep historic roots, said the Kazakh President at the briefing.
The Head of State noted that the close Kazakh-Chinese trade and humanitarian ties have been actively evolving for many centuries thanks to mutual support and expressed confidence in their brighter future.
According to Tokayev, he will continue to make every effort to enhance multifaceted interaction between the countries together with his Chinese counterpart, as attested by the talks held in capital Astana.
Noting that Kazakhstan and China have no unresolved matters, the Head of State highlighted both countries’ commitment to join efforts to step up trade and economic, scientific and technical and cultural and humanitarian relations.
Just now, together with Chairman Xi Jinping a Joint Statement outlining the key achievements and promising objectives was signed. China is a top trade partner of Kazakhstan. Last year, the amount of bilateral trade turnover stood at 41 billion US dollars. The figure is to double in the future since the significant potential is in place. Beijing is one of our key foreign investors, with around 25 billion US dollars invested in Kazakhstan over the last 15 years, said the Head of State.
Tokayev noted that in 2023, China invested in the Kazakh economy 1.8 billion US dollars, a 16% year-over-year increase.
Presently, the countries carry out 45 projects to the tune of 14.5 billion US dollars. A total of over 4,700 enterprises with Chinese capital operate in Kazakhstan.
According to the Kazakh leader, the talks highlighted the importance of boosting cooperation in the field of transport and logistics. In particular, Xi Jinping’s global initiative ‘One Belt, One Road,’ announced in Astana, and the promotion of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route were discussed.
Last year, the countries saw railway freight rise by 22% to 28 million tons, hitting a record high.
The Kazakh leader also noted that the prospects of agricultural cooperation were under discussion. In 2023, the export of agricultural products from Kazakhstan to China doubled and reached 1 billion US dollars. Kazakhstan has the capacity to ramp up the grain export to up to 2 million tons.
During the briefing, Tokayev said that the talks also focused on cultural and humanitarian cooperation and contacts in tourism.
I’d like to stress that a visa-free regime is in place for citizens of Kazakhstan and China in a mutual basis, mostly benefiting residents of bordering regions, entrepreneurs, tourists, young people and foreign partners, said the Kazakh leader.
The Head of State noted that the talks also featured an exchange of views on the current issues of regional and global agenda.
We noted the closeness of our positions and stressed the importance of further strengthening multilateral diplomacy. The partnership between our countries is successfully developing within the UN, SCO and CICA. Moreover, it was agreed to continue the dialogue under the Central Asia-China format. We share the common stance on peaceful settlement of international conflicts, stabilizing the geopolitical situation and enhancing global security and peace, stated the Kazakh President.
In conclusion, Kazakh leader Tokayev hailed the outcomes of today’s talks with Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping.
