Tokayev: Raising relations with China to qualitatively new level is top priority for Kazakhstan

ASTANA. Nov 27 (Interfax) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang discussed today's state of the two countries' strategic partnership and its development prospects in Astana on Monday, the Kazakh presidential press service said.

"Bringing bilateral relations with China to a qualitatively new level is a top priority for Kazakhstan. I believe that Kazakh-Chinese relations serve, in fact, as a model of mutually beneficial, effective interstate cooperation. We view China as a very important strategic partner and place high hopes on achieving specific results in our cooperation in all fields," Tokayev was quoted by his press service as saying.

The recent Third Belt and Road Forum set out a further path for advancing Chinese President Xi Jinping's large-scale initiative, Tokayev said, adding that Kazakhstan will continue to comprehensively support the implementation of this project.

Visa requirements were recently abolished between Kazakhstan and China, and 2024 has been declared the Year of Kazakh Tourism in China, he said.

"I believe that it is also a very important decision from the point of view of mutual exchanges, especially among the youth," Tokayev said.

The Chinese vice premier, for his part, praised the pace of bilateral cooperation development.

"The goal of my visit is to facilitate the implementation of the agreements reached by the heads of state in order to continuously achieve new results in our cooperation [...] The successful development of Chinese-Kazakh relations fully meets our common interests and contributes to peace and stability in the region," Ding said.

During the meeting, the parties discussed steps to further enhance cooperation in trade, agriculture, investment, transport, logistics, energy, etc., the press service said. The relevance of promoting cultural and humanitarian ties between Kazakhstan and China was also emphasized.