Carry forward the millennia-old friendship between China and Kazakhstan

​"China and Kazakhstan are good neighbors, good friends, and good partners with a long history of exchanges between the two peoples and mutual learning between different civilizations along the ancient Silk Road," said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his congratulatory message to the opening ceremony of the "Kazakhstan Tourism Year" in China on March 29.

Paintings are displayed at an art exhibition titled "Kazakhstan-China: A Dialogue Across Millennium" in Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan. (Photo: China Central Television News)

A 1,700-plus-kilometer common border, more than 2,000 years of exchanges, and the ancient Silk Road bind the two countries together.

Xi paid a state visit to Kazakhstan in September 2022. After a welcome ceremony, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev invited Xi to an art exhibition titled "Kazakhstan-China: A Dialogue Across Millennium."

On display were Chinese and Kazakh masterworks from the State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The exquisite Chinese paintings and porcelains and the Kazakh silks and ceramics are vivid testaments to the mutual learning between the splendid Chinese and Kazakh civilizations over the millennium. They also bear historical witness to the friendly exchanges between generations of Chinese and Kazakh people.

The camel bells along the Silk Road are now part of the history. However, the friendly exchanges between the two countries have never ceased.

Kazakhstan, a major stop along the ancient Silk Road, was where Xi unveiled the "Silk Road Economic Belt" to the world. In September 2013, Xi delivered a speech titled "Promote People-to-People Friendship and Create a Better Future" and proposed the idea of jointly building a Silk Road Economic Belt in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Aray Saniyazova, head of International Students and Scholars Services, Nazarbayev University, attended Xi's speech in 2013. Saniyazova said that the audience felt inspired by Xi's proposal of building a Silk Road Economic Belt and believed that Kazakhstan would embrace more development opportunities with this proposal.

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, who is in China for the China-Central Asia Summit and a state visit, in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 17, 2023. After the talks, the two heads of state signed a joint statement and witnessed the signing of a raft of bilateral documents on cooperation in areas including economy, trade, energy, transport, agriculture, connectivity, culture, and local affairs. (Photo: Xinhua)

Over the past decade, China and Kazakhstan have achieved fruitful results in various fields of cooperation centered on the Belt and Road Initiative, benefiting the people of both countries and revitalizing the millennia-old Silk Road friendship between China and Kazakhstan. As a Kazakh proverb says, "Friendship is an inexhaustible wealth."

In the southern part of Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, there is a street named after the famous Chinese musician Xian Xinghai – Xian Xinghai Boulevard.

In 1942, Xian was stranded in Almaty. When war broke out between Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union in 1941, the composer was working on a documentary for the Communist Party of China under the alias of Huang Xun in Moscow. Forced to abort his mission and evacuate, he was left alone in the Kazakh city of Almaty and couldn't return home. At a time when he was alone, ill, and in dire straits, Kazakh musician Bakhitzhan Baikadamov took him in, providing him with food and accommodations.

During his years in Almaty, Xian composed famous musical works such as "National Liberation Symphony," "Holy War," and "Man Jiang Hong." He also created the symphonic poem "Amangeldy," inspired by the deeds of Kazakh national hero Amangeldy, which motivated people to fight against fascism and was widely welcomed by Kazakhs.

In 2019, China and Kazakhstan co-produced the film "The Composer," which documents the great friendship between the Chinese and Kazakh people as exemplified by Xian's friendship with Baikadamov. The film won numerous awards after its release.

Photo shows a monument commemorating Chinese composer Xian Xinghai on Xian Xinghai Boulevard in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Photo: Xinhua)

"Our family helped Xian Xinghai despite our financial difficulties and the risks involved because the people of China and Kazakhstan have a long-standing tradition of mutual assistance in times of hardship," said Baldyrgan Baikadamova, the daughter of Baikadamov, reminiscing about the past. "The historical memory of friendship between China and Kazakhstan has long been written into our genes, passed down from generation to generation."

Amity between peoples holds the key to the relationship between countries. Xi said, "cultural exchanges and tourism cooperation serve as important bridges and bonds for people-to-people connectivity between China and Kazakhstan."

In recent years, China and Kazakhstan have made new achievements in promoting tourism cooperation.

In November 2017, China officially set up a tourism office in Astana, the first one of its kind established by China in a Central Asian country. It has played an active role in promoting cultural and tourism exchanges between China and Kazakhstan.

In November 2023, a mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Kazakhstan officially came into effect, making it more convenient for tourists from both countries to visit each other.

In 2024, which was designated as the "Kazakhstan Tourism Year" in China, more than 35 activities will be held.

Moreover, the two countries are expanding cultural cooperation in various ways. For example, they have signed an agreement to open cultural centers in each other's countries.

Last year, the Kazakhstan Luban Workshop, a vocational training school jointly built by China's Tianjin Vocational Institute and D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University in Kazakhstan, began trial operations in Oskemen, Kazakhstan.

Both countries' youths are also enhancing their exchanges.

Cultural cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has deepened and reinforced, further consolidating the millennia-old friendship between the two peoples.

Two technicians operate a China-made intelligent robotic vehicle in the automotive repair training area of the Luban Workshop in Oskemen, Kazakhstan. The workshop is jointly built by Tianjin Vocational Institute and D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University and began trial operations on December 9, 2023. (Photo: Zhao Yipu/People's Daily)

Looking to the future, Xi has called on both sides to deepen cooperation on tourism, increase cross-border travel, carry forward their friendship to embrace the next "30 golden years" in bilateral ties, and make new contributions to building a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future.

(Translated by Zhan Huilan, Xie Jiahui and Fan Xiaoyu)