On December 7, 2012, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with visiting Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan in Astana.
Wang first conveyed the cordial greetings and good wishes from President Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, to Nazarbayev.
Wang said President Nazarbayev, as an old friend of Chinese people, has made remarkable contributions to the development of China-Kazakhstan relations. Since China and Kazakhstan established diplomatic ties 20 years ago, their relations have maintained a good momentum of development, Wang said. Political mutual trust between the two countries has been constantly enhanced and bilateral cooperation in various fields has moved forward smoothly, he said. The two sides have supported each other on major issues concerning their core interests and closely cooperated in both regional and global affairs, Wang said. The effort has promoted regional stability and contributed to the development of both countries, Wang said. Nazarbayev's successful visit to China in June injected new impetus into the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, he said. China appreciates Kazakhstan's strong support on issues including cracking down on the "Eastern Turkistan" terrorist force and will firmly support Kazakhstan's choice of a development path that fits its national conditions, Wang said.
As an important platform for the all-round cooperation between the two countries, the Cooperation Committee Between Kazakhstan and China has achieved fruitful results in promoting pragmatic cooperation in a number of areas including economy and trade, investment, energy, transportation, finance, culture and security. It also has greatly contributed to the promotion of the China-Kazakhstan comprehensive strategic partnership.
Wang pointed out that the economies of China and Kazakhstan are highly complementary to each other and carry a huge potential for cooperation. China is willing to make joint efforts with Kazakhstan to further enlarge their trade volume and realize the goal of 40 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade by 2015 set by the two heads of state, he said. Wang said the two countries should actively promote oil and natural gas cooperation, expand cooperation in non-resource fields, jointly well run the China and Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center, and strengthen cooperation in the fields of finance, science and technology, and culture.
Nazarbayev asked Wang to convey his greetings to Hu and Xi. He said Kazakhstan congratulates the Communist Party of China on the success of the 18th National Congress. Since its independence, Kazakhstan has committed itself to developing a close, friendly partnership of mutual trust with China, he said. The president, who has visited China 11 times, said he has met Chinese leaders on many bilateral and international occasions. Kazakhstan is willing to work with the new Chinese leadership to continue to develop the two nations' comprehensive strategic partnership, he said. China's implementation of its strategies of building a well-off society in 2020 and developing the west regions has provided a new opportunity for the two countries' cooperation, he said.
Nazarbayev noted that cooperation between the two countries continues to develop in various areas, with bilateral trade already reaching 25 billion U.S. dollars. Great successes have been achieved in energy cooperation, and 20 percent of Kazakhstan's oil is exported to China. Intense efforts will be made to complete construction of the Kazakhstan natural gas pipeline that is being co-built by China by 2014, to increase natural gas exports to China. The second Kazakhstan-China railway passing Horgos Port will be put into service at the end of this year. The transport interconnection between the two countries will be promoted by accelerating the construction of roads connecting with western China. Kazakhstan will make efforts to expand cooperation with China in non-resource areas during the industralization process. It is believed that bilateral cooperation in various areas will continue to benefit the peoples of the two countries, he said.