China and Kazakhstan strengthen relations

China and Kazakhstan will speed up the development of plans for medium- and long-term economic cooperation so the two countries can achieve a trade volume of $40 billion in 2015.

Premier Wen Jiabao told Kazakh Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov on the sidelines of the 11th Shanghai Cooperation Organization prime ministers' meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Wednesday that China would like to maintain high-ranking communication with Kazakhstan and deepen mutual trust.

China would like to enhance China-Kazakhstan cooperation in areas including oil, gas and the building of frontier railway ports, while further expanding bilateral cooperation in agriculture, high-end technology, finance and telecommunication, Wen said.

Energy cooperation plays a very important role in China-Kazakhstan ties and bilateral cooperation in non-energy sectors will also be further developed in the coming years.

"The energy sector holds an important role in bilateral trade and economic cooperation", Kazakhstan's Ambassador to China Nurlan Yermekbayev told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

"We are currently implementing joint projects concerning oil-field development, construction of oil and gas pipelines as well as processing plants."

In addition to energy cooperation, a plan for an intergovernmental coordination program in the non-energy sector will be developed between the two countries, according to the ambassador.

The plan consists of 20 different projects featuring agriculture, new technology, border trade, transportation and communications, he added.

Non-energy sectors are new growth points for bilateral cooperation, as Kazakhstan mapped out its strategy to diversify its economic structure, lessening its focus on the energy industry, said Sun Zhuangzhi, a researcher of Central Asian studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"The two economies are highly complementary. China can help Kazakhstan in many areas because it has a lot of experience in how to develop," he said.

Ties between China and Kazakhstan have enjoyed stable development since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992. China's share in Kazakhstan's external trade is more than 20 percent, making it the country's largest trade partner.

"Thanks to the mutually beneficial cooperation, our countries have managed not only to successfully overcome the negative aftermath of the global financial crisis, but have also managed to significantly increase the volume of trade and economic cooperation over the past few years", said Ambassador Yermekbayev.

According to Chinese statistics, trade volume between the two countries reached $25 billion in 2011 ― a record high and more than 60 times that in 1992.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, there have been 26 meetings at head of state level.

Considering the regular meetings between Chinese premiers and Kazakh prime ministers, and the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties, China hopes to make plans for future cooperation with Kazakhstan and deepen the friendship with the Kazakh people, Wen said.

Contact the writers at qinjize@chinadaily.com.cn and zhouwa@chinadaily.com.cn