Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and First Deputy Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev of Kazakhstan reached a six-point consensus to advance bilateral cooperation on Tuesday.
Zhang and Sagintayev co-chaired the seventh session of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Commission in Beijing, at which they summarized the results and planned future cooperation in the areas of manufacturing capacity, energy and resources, trade and investment, inter-connectivity, technology and people-to-people contact.
The two sides agreed to step up integration of the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt with Kazakhstan's new economic policy of the Bright Road. They will establish a joint work group on building the Silk Road Economic Belt as soon as possible and start drafting a guideline on bilateral cooperation at the earliest possible date.
The two sides vowed to deepen cooperation on manufacturing capacity. The two governments will sign an agreement on investment and manufacturing capacity cooperation as soon as possible. They will materialize a number of short-listed projects and accelerate study on establishing a bilateral fund for manufacturing capacity cooperation.
The two sides also agreed to boost bilateral trade to 40 billion U.S. dollars a year by strengthening cooperation on infrastructure, equipment manufacturing, construction materials, petrochemical industry, automobiles and agriculture.
The two sides vowed to advance construction of roads connecting the western part of China, Kazakhstan and western parts of Europe. They agreed to better facilitate cargo transport by trains between China and Europe and foster a smooth and stable Eurasia railway passage.
The two sides agreed to conduct closer cooperation between local governments along their borders. They will accelerate talks on drafting guidelines for such cooperation and fully utilize the cross-border cooperation center at Horgos.
They also agreed on advancing cooperation on technology, mining and people-to-people contact. China voiced support to Kazakhstan hosting the 2017 specialized World Expo. The two sides vowed to strengthen security cooperation on bilateral and multilateral levels.
Zhang said the meeting was aimed to implement the consensus that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev reached on advancing bilateral cooperation in various areas and to make preparation for the next meeting between the two presidents.
Sagintayev said the two countries have maintained a high level of their all-round strategic partnership. He expressed the readiness to fully utilize the cooperation commission to lift bilateral links and cooperation to a new level.
