Interview: Xi's upcoming visit shows support for Kazakhstan -- analyst
Xinhua, May 5, 2015 Adjust font size:
The forthcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Kazakhstan following Nazarbayev's re-election as the head of state shows support to the Central Asian nation, a political analyst said on Monday.
Xi will pay a visit to Kazakhstan on Thursday, the first leg of his second overseas trip in 2015, which will also take him to Russia and Belarus.
China-Kazakhstan relations that are anchored by practical cooperation feature frequent exchanges at all levels, said Aidar Amrebayev, head of the Institute for World Economy and Politics under the Foundation of First President of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan's interaction with China, its closest strategic partner, is of great importance to the future development of China-Kazakhstan relations, Amrebayev said.
President Xi's visit following President Nazarbayev's re-election, Amrebayev said, indicates that China attaches great importance to its ties with Kazakhstan and supports its stable and sustainable development.
Xi and Nazarbayev are expected during their talks to jointly draw up a blueprint for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, including the joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and cooperation on big projects.
Noting the epoch-making initiative was first proposed by Xi during his visit to Kazakhstan in 2013, Amrebayev said the Silk Road Economic Belt will bring opportunities to the country and serve as a positive factor in maintaining regional stability.
Kazakhstan are now faced with many challenges after joining the Moscow-led Eurasia Economic Union due to Russia's flagging economy and devaluing Ruble, the political scientist said. But those difficulties can be overcome by joining the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative.
Amrebayev welcomed and encouraged Chinese enterprises to turn out high-tech products in Kazakhstan, an inland nation with a moderate population and a relatively limited market, and then export them to European countries.
He also hoped that the initiative will attract more European investment and technology to Kazakhstan.
To quell the misgivings that some Western nations have over the initiative, Amrebayev recommended an international dialogue mechanism be established so as to attract as many countries as possible to join the program. Endi