Sino-Kazakh cooperation expands into new sectors

With major projects including those linking transportation in China and Kazakhstan progressing, cooperation between the two neighbors has gone far beyond oil and gas, Kazakh President Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev said on Friday.

Nazarbayev is in China to attend the annual Boao Forum from April 6 to 8 in Hainan province, and to meet President Xi Jinping.

Bilateral cooperation beyond oil and gas "is taking center stage", Nazarbayev told China Daily, adding that both countries are already undertaking large-scale projects.

Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, Kazakh President

Kazakhstan's Temir Zholy Railway Co is in talks on the construction of a terminal in the Chinese port city Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, he said.

The commissioning of the Kazakhstan section of the Western Europe-Western China transportation corridor will "give more impetus" to cooperation in transportation, he added.

"According to our estimates, the highway, which will open in Kazakhstan in 2015, has the potential to almost triple cargo volumes between Kazakhstan and China from 12 million to 33 million tons."

In 2012, more than 16 million tons of goods were transported by rail between the two countries, Nazarbayev said, "and the opportunities continue to grow".

In December, the Altynkol-Khorgos railway crossing was opened, reducing the distance for cargo delivery from China to countries in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf to 500 km.

Cargo transportation via this route is expected to reach 4.5 million tons in 2015 and has the capacity to reach 25 million tons annually, the Kazakh president said. In addition, the number of flights between Kazakhstan and China is expected to reach 30 a week by the end of the year, he added.

A slew of other major projects between the two neighbors are also going on, Nazarbayev said.

Four joint power generation projects worth $1.2 billion are in development, including wind, solar and hydroelectric plants.

"So our relationship is progressing beyond oil and gas. There are, of course, still huge opportunities in this field, and I am confident they will all be explored.

"The time is ripe to strengthen our partnership and move it beyond the traditional area of oil and gas, building cooperation in the high-tech sectors, as well as in the scientific, research and educational sectors."

Speaking of Astana's ties with Beijing, Nazarbayev said the smooth and multilevel interaction between the two nations has developed into "a strong, constructive and practical relationship that exemplifies good neighborly relations and mutual respect".

"Strengthening relations with China is a priority of our foreign policy, as we made clear in our Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy. There are no insuperable contradictions between our countries. The only challenge is how to further enhance and broaden the spectrum of our cooperation."

Expo 2017, to be held in Kazakhstan, the first post-Soviet country to win the right to host the Expo, could become a new highlight of Beijing and Astana's interaction.

"Expo 2010 in Shanghai set a record for attendance, with high numbers of participants and visitors," Nazarbayev said.

"China hosted a world-class event and set new standards for Expos, both on organizational and technical levels.

"The theme for the Expo in Astana will be 'Future Energy', expanding on the Expo 2010 theme 'Better City － Better Life'.

"I think that Chinese companies are interested in developing the exhibition site and corresponding infrastructure," Nazarbayev said.

"But more important, joint projects in the field of alternative energy — a major theme for Expo 2017 — present new opportunities for cooperation and can become an important sphere of our relationship."

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