Xi Jinping Holds Talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart T...

On the morning of July 3, 2024 local time, President Xi Jinping held talks with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Presidential Palace in Astana.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev warmly greeted Xi Jinping as the latter arrived at the Presidential Palace by car. Six fighter jets of the Kazakh Air Force flew over the Presidential Palace, painting the sky with colored smoke trails of red and yellow, the colors of the Chinese national flag, to welcome Xi Jinping's state visit to Kazakhstan with the highest courtesy.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a grand welcoming ceremony for Xi Jinping.

The hall of the Presidential Palace is magnificent, with honor guard standing straight. The two heads of state shook hands with each other's accompanying personnel one by one. The two heads of state stepped onto the stand and the military band played the national anthems of China and Kazakhstan. Xi Jinping reviewed the honor guard, accompanied by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

After the welcoming ceremony, the two heads of state held a small-group meeting.

Xi Jinping pointed out that last year, he and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met twice in Xi'an and Beijing respectively, and made new arrangements and plans for the development of China-Kazakhstan relations, steering the rapid development of the "golden 30 years" of China-Kazakhstan relations. The Chinese side always views its relations with Kazakhstan from a strategic and long-term perspective, and regards Kazakhstan as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and an important partner for cooperation in Central Asia. China's will and determination to maintain and grow bilateral relations with Kazakhstan stand firm, and will not change due to any single incident or changes in the international landscape. China will always be a good neighbor and partner Kazakhstan can rely on and trust. The Chinese side will continue to strengthen cooperation with Kazakhstan on traditional energy such as natural gas, expand new energy cooperation including photovoltaic and wind power, support more Chinese enterprises to invest in Kazakhstan, and help Kazakhstan convert its resource advantages into development capabilities to achieve green, low-carbon and sustainable development.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said President Xi Jinping's state visit to Kazakhstan is of historic significance to the development of Kazakhstan-China relations. China is a friendly neighbor, close friend and important strategic partner of Kazakhstan. Based on solid good-neighborly friendship and firm mutual support, Kazakhstan-China relations have shown unprecedented sound momentum of development, and major achievements have been made in bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, agriculture, minerals and other fields, which have benefited the two peoples and set a good example of state-to-state relations. The Kazakh side congratulated China on its historic achievements on all fronts and held the belief that under the dynamic leadership of President Xi Jinping, China will make new and greater achievements on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. Kazakhstan is ready to work with China to further tap the potential of bilateral cooperation in energy, minerals, new energy and connectivity and lift bilateral relations to a new height. The Kazakh side appreciates China's firm support for Kazakhstan's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and will firmly abide by the one-China principle, resolutely fight against the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism and safeguard the common security of the two countries.

Later, the two heads of state held big-group talks.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the friendly relations between China and Kazakhstan are rooted in the millennia-old ancient Silk Road, strengthened by 32 years of cooperation after the establishment of diplomatic relations, and have reached the high level of a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. Relations between China and Kazakhstan are defined by lasting friendship, a high degree of mutual trust and sharing weal and woe. No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain steadfast in its commitment to the China-Kazakhstan friendship, in its resolve to advance cooperation across the board, in its determination to continue mutual support with Kazakhstan on issues concerning each other's core interests, and in its confidence in both countries realizing their development goals. Xi Jinping expressed his readiness to work with Kazakhstan to jointly build a more substantive and dynamic China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future, and inject more positive energy into the development and stability of the region and beyond.

Stressing that China and Kazakhstan are both at a critical stage of development and revitalization, Xi Jinping called on the two sides to seek greater synergy of their development strategies and enhance exchanges of governance experience, and implement more mutually beneficial cooperation projects to boost the development of their respective countries. The Chinese side is ready to work with Kazakhstan on boosting economic and trade cooperation, and to set a new goal of doubling two-way trade at an early date. China will further expand imports of high-quality Kazakh goods and create new growth drivers for cooperation in e-commerce and digital economy. The two sides need to increase the scale of cooperation in production capacity investment, tap the potential of cooperation in scientific and technological innovation, and expand cooperation in electric vehicles, new energy, cross-border e-commerce and satellite communications. China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to actively promote the construction of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and build a multi-dimensional connectivity network. China supports the holding of the China Tourism Year in Kazakhstan in 2025, and has decided to open a second Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan. Xi noted that upon arrival at the airport on Tuesday, he was moved to hear a group of Kazakh teenagers sing "Ode to the Motherland" in standard and fluent Chinese, and said that it rests with the young people to carry forward the China-Kazakhstan friendship from generation to generation. The two sides should give full play to the role of the culture centers of the two countries and the Kazakhstan Branch of Beijing Language and Culture University to strengthen cultural exchanges, enhance mutual understanding and amity between the two peoples, especially the younger generation, and strengthen public support for all-round cooperation between the two countries.

Xi Jinping spoke highly of Kazakhstan's work as the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and wishes the Astana summit hosted by Kazakhstan a complete success. Noting that China will assume the SCO rotating presidency following the Astana summit, Xi Jinping said that the Chinese side is ready to jointly build an even closer SCO community with a shared future with the SCO member states including Kazakhstan. China supports Kazakhstan in hosting the second China-Central Asia Summit next year and is ready to work with relevant parties including Kazakhstan to make the China-Central Asia mechanism better and stronger, and to promote China-Central Asia cooperation to achieve more new results. China is ready to work closely with Kazakhstan within the framework of the United Nations and other multilateral frameworks, practice true multilateralism and safeguard the common interests of the two countries and other developing countries.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said President Xi Jinping's state visit to Kazakhstan once again proves that both sides attach great importance to and have a strong desire to further enhance the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Kazakhstan and China enjoy a solid friendship spanning thousands of years and fruitful cooperation in various fields. In recent years in particular, under the personal care and guidance of President Xi Jinping, bilateral relations have entered a new "golden era", with smooth progress in major cooperation projects and positive outcomes in cooperation in such areas as agriculture, green energy, culture and people-to-people exchanges, contributing to the well-being of the two peoples. Kazakhstan firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is a reliable friend and partner of China. Tokayev said that it is an unswerving strategic priority of Kazakhstan to deepen friendly and strategic cooperation with China. He spoke highly of China's peaceful diplomacy, the global initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping and China's important contributions to world peace and development. He said that the Kazakh side is ready to work with China to promote the building of a Kazakhstan-China community with a shared future as well as a community with a shared future for mankind. Kazakhstan looks forward to working with China to earnestly implement the important outcomes of President Xi Jinping's visit, continue jointly promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, make all-out efforts for the goal of doubling bilateral trade, strengthen cooperation in such fields as agriculture, economy and trade, new energy, cross-border e-commerce and electric vehicles, and advance the construction of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. Kazakhstan welcomes the establishment of culture centers in the two countries and the Luban Workshop, and will work to ensure the success of the China Tourism Year in 2025 and strengthen cooperation and exchanges with China in such areas as education and culture and at the sub-national level. Kazakhstan will continue to actively participate in building the China-Central Asia mechanism, and closely coordinate with China within multilateral frameworks such as the SCO and the United Nations.

Following the talks, the two heads of state signed the Joint Statement Between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan, and witnessed the exchange of dozens of bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of economy and trade, connectivity, aviation and aerospace, education and media.

At noon on the same day, Xi Jinping attended a grand welcoming banquet hosted by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Cai Qi and Wang Yi, among others, attended the above events.