Xi hails strong ties with Kazakhstan (3)

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives at the Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport for a state visit to Kazakhstan, Sept 14, 2022. Xi was warmly welcomed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and a group of senior officials including Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi and Nur-Sultan Mayor Altai Kulginov. [Photo/Xinhua]

"China has always been one of the most important strategic partners of Kazakhstan in every field of bilateral cooperation," he said.

China is Kazakhstan's fifth-largest source of foreign investment, and amid the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade continues to grow at a rapid rate, he added.

Bulat Sultanov, director of the Research Institute of International and Regional Cooperation at Kazakh-German University, said China-Kazakhstan strategic cooperation is "of particular importance in the current situation".

Amid the current geopolitical changes in the world, China-Kazakhstan teamwork could focus on attracting more Chinese investment to Kazakhstan and boosting the synergy of the development visions pursued by the two countries, he added.

The scholar highlighted promising areas for the two nations to work on, such as establishing a "digital Silk Road" based on digital technologies and boosting exports of Kazakhstan's agricultural products to China.

After concluding his whirlwind trip to Nur-Sultan, Xi arrived in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Wednesday evening, the second stop of his three-day visit to Central Asia.