China, Kazakhstan set up business council
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-05-19 08:49

The China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs' Council was established in Beijing Tuesday and visiting Kazakh President Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev addressed the inauguration ceremony.

The Kazakhstan-China trade is growing, which has forged the foundation for further cooperation between enterprises in the two countries, Nazarbayev said.

Kazakhstan will intensify efforts to develop agriculture, natural resources, and housing and infrastructure construction, said the Kazakh president, who welcomed Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Kazakhstan.

Sino-Kazakh trade soared in recent years, said Ma Kai, minister of China's State Development and Reform Commission. Bilateral trade was nearly US$3.3 billion last year, eight times more than that when diplomatic ties were forged.

In the first quarter of this year, Sino-Kazakh trade hit US$1.16 billion, up 87.7 percent year-on-year, Ma noted.

Cooperation between the two countries has a sound foundation, Ma said. China welcomes Kazakh enterprises to invest in China and Chinese enterprises are also encouraged to invest in Kazakhstan.

The entrepreneurs' council was composed of nearly 80 business people from the two countries.

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