国内英语新闻:China, Kazakhstan pledge to strengthen strategic partnership

ASTANA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Saturday pledged to advance their countries' strategic partnership.

    During a meeting with Nazarbayev, Hu put forward a five-point proposal for the development of bilateral relations between China and Kazakhstan.

Firstly, China and Kazakhstan should strengthen their political mutual trust by maintaining the momentum of frequent high-level contact and expanding cooperation and exchanges between parliaments and government departments, Hu said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) meets with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana Dec. 12, 2009.

The Chinese president said the two sides should strengthen mutual support on major issues concerning each other's core interests so as to enhance mutual understanding and trust.

    Hu said he has accepted an invitation by Nazarbayev to visit Kazakhstan next year, adding that he also invited Nazarbayev to visit China at a convenient time in the near future.

    Secondly, Hu said the two countries should deepen their cooperation in the energy sector, and earnestly implement the operation and maintenance of the China-Kazakhstan natural gas pipeline.

    The two countries should also strengthen cooperation in the mining sector, he said.

    Thirdly, China and Kazakhstan should advance their cooperation in non-energy sectors so as to push forward practical bilateral ties in an all-round manner.

    The Chinese president said the two countries should step up efforts to carry out their cooperation plans in non-energy sectors and in promoting the implementation of the first batch of their cooperation projects.

    Hu also called for joint efforts from both sides in expanding the scale and improving the economic returns of their non-energy cooperation.

    Fourthly, the two sides need to strengthen cooperation in the financial sector, especially in such areas as loans and financing, financial supervision, risk prevention and anti-money laundering.

    He said the two sides should accelerate the implementation of agreements on the 10-billion-dollar loan China provided for Kazakhstan to create favorable conditions for their cooperation in energy, mining and non-energy sectors.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) and Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev (R) attend the completion ceremony of the Kazakhstan-China natural gas pipeline in Astana Dec. 12, 2009.

Fifthly, Hu said the two sides should expand cooperation and exchanges in the fields of humanities and culture.

    He said China is ready to expand cooperation with Kazakhstan insuch areas as science, technology, education, culture, sports and tourism. He also announced a decision to increase from 100 to 200 the number of Kazakh students who study in China on Chinese government scholarships every year.

    Nazarbayev agreed with Hu's five-point proposal and said the Kazak side was satisfied with the development of the good-neighborly friendship and strategic partnership enjoyed by the two countries.

    Hu's visit took place on the eve of the 18th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence, which Nazarbayev said reflects the importance that China places on its relations with his country.

    The two leaders watched the completion of a natural gas pipeline in Kazakhstan earlier Saturday. The pipeline is part of the China-Central Asia gas pipeline that links Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

    Noting that bilateral relations have ushered in a new stage of energy cooperation, Nazarbayev said his country was willing to strengthen pragmatic cooperation with China in the fields of trade, finance, infrastructure, energy and non-energy.

    He also agreed with China's handling of the July 5 incident in Urumuqi in northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and reiterated his support for China's efforts to strike against the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism

    China's efforts were necessary to maintain stability in Xinjiang, and were good for stability in Kazakhstan, he said.

    The president also thanked the Chinese government for increasing the number of Kazak students studying in China and said his country was ready to work with Beijing to smoothly run the two Confucius Institutes in Kazakhstan.

    China and Kazakhstan have witnessed sustained, rapid and healthy progress of bilateral ties since establishing diplomatic relations in 1992.

    Kazakhstan has become China's largest trading partner in Central Asia. Despite the global financial crisis, two-way trade reached 17.55 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, exceeding the 15-billion-dollar target set by the two countries' governments.

    China and Kazakhstan have also made concerted efforts in fighting against the "three evil forces", cracking down on drug trafficking and other cross-border crimes.

    Hu arrived in Astana earlier Saturday for a two-day visit to Kazakhstan at the invitation of Nazarbayev.

    Kazakhstan is the first leg of Hu's two-nation Central Asia trip. He is expected to leave Kazakhstan on Sunday for Turkmenistan.