Workers transfer medical supplies from China in a warehouse at the Almaty International Airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan, April 2, 2020. (Kursiv Newspaper/Handout via Xinhua)
China is willing to take the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries as an opportunity and take the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road as the mainline to push forward the cooperation between the two countries in various fields, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
BEIJING, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to push forward bilateral cooperation in all fields.
In a telephone conversation, Wang congratulated Mukhtar Tleuberdi on his appointment as Kazakhstan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and congratulated Kazakhstan on its 30th anniversary of independence. Wang also expected Kazakhstan to make great stride over the next 30 golden years.
Wang said that the strategic guidance of the two countries' heads of state is the fundamental guarantee for the development of China-Kazakhstan relations.
In the past year, China and Kazakhstan have joined hands in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, and helped each other, said Wang, adding that bilateral ties saw a high-level development despite difficulties.
A policeman checks an outbound China-Europe freight train at Horgos Pass in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 20, 2020. (Photo by Zhang Jia/Xinhua)
He noted that the two-way trade maintained a good momentum, and China-Europe freight train trips and freight volume rose against all odds, becoming the "steel camel fleets" running across Eurasia.
China is willing to take the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries as an opportunity and take the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road as the mainline to push forward the cooperation between the two countries in various fields, said Wang.
He also called on the two sides to align their cooperation plans, deepen cooperation in production capacity and investment, upgrade the level of connectivity, promote cooperation in vaccine research, development, and procurement, explore cooperation in the fields of digital economy, e-commerce and artificial intelligence, and continuously inject new impetus into the development of bilateral relations.
Describing international coordination as the touchstone for nation-to-nation strategic cooperation, Wang said mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests should be a natural part of the China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership.
China supports Kazakhstan to play a more important role within the frameworks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and CICA (the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia), and make greater contributions to regional peace and development, said Wang.
He also noted that the U.S. side maliciously attacked and smeared China on issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong, wantonly interfered in China's internal affairs, and seriously violated the basic norms of international relations.
People wearing masks walk on the street in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, March 16, 2020. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua)
Wang said he believes Kazakhstan will join countries that uphold justice in standing by the international equity and justice, and jointly rejecting bullyism, double standards and meddling in the internal affairs of other countries.
Tleuberdi said Kazakhstan will remain determined to develop its ties with China, and will take the opportunity of the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence and the 30th anniversary of bilateral ties to plan high-level exchanges with China, push forward mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and take bilateral relations to a new level.
He also said that mutual support on international and regional issues is the mainline and core of the Kazakhstan-China permanent comprehensive strategic partnership.
Kazakhstan abides by the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and believes that issues regarding Xinjiang and Hong Kong are purely China's internal affairs, he said, adding that Kazakhstan is willing to further strengthen cooperation with China within the frameworks of the SCO and CICA to jointly safeguard regional security and stability. ■
