The President of Kazakhstan emphasized that the bilateral cooperation beyond the extractive sector is taking a centre-stage, having added that the two countries are already implementing large-scale projects.
So, the commissioning of the Kazakhstan section of the Western Europe-Western China international transport corridor will give more impetus to cooperation in the field of transport. According to the estimates, the highway, which will open in Kazakhstan in 2015, has the potential to almost triple cargo volumes between Kazakhstan and China from 12 to 33 million tonnes.
In 2012, the railway turnover of goods between our two countries has exceeded 16 million tonnes, and as the President mentioned, the opportunities continue to grow.
In December last year, the “Altynkol-Khorgos” railway crossing was opened, reducing the distance for cargo delivery from China to the countries of Central Asia and Persian Gulf to 500 kilometres. Cargo transportation on this route is expected to reach 4.5 million tonnes in 2015 and has the capacity to reach 25 million tonnes annually.
Kazakhstan’s Temir Zholy Railway Company is in talks on the construction of a terminal in the Chinese port city of Lianyungang.
President Nazarbayev also stressed that there is a number of important projects are in development between the neighboring countries. Four joint power generation projects worth $1.2 billion, including wind, solar and hydroelectric plants to generate cleaner and renewable energy are among them.
So, the relationship beyond oil and gas is progressing. In this regard, the President expressed confidence that the existing huge opportunities in this field will be widely explored.
The time is ripe to strengthen the partnership beyond the area of oil and gas, building cooperation in the high-tech sectors, as well as in the scientific, research and educational spheres.
Speaking about the relations between Astana and Beijing, the President noted that successive multilevel cooperation developed into strong, constructive and practical relationship that exemplifies good neighbourly relations and mutual respect.
Strengthening relations with China is a priority in the foreign policy of our country, as it outlined in the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy.
There are no insuperable contradictions between our countries. The only challenge is how to further enhance and broaden the spectrum of our cooperation.
The President of Kazakhstan expressed a view that cooperation between our country and China while hosting the EXPO 2017 not only increase its efficiency but open new prospects for joint long-term projects.
The EXPO 2010 Shanghai China set a record attendance, with high numbers of participants and visitors, as well as constructed area expositions. China set new standards for EXPOs, both on organisational and technical levels.
President Nazarbayev expressed confidence that Chinese companies are interested in developing the exhibition site and corresponding infrastructure. But more importantly, joint projects in the field of alternative energy - a major theme during EXPO 2017 – present new opportunities for cooperation and can become an important sphere of our relationship.