President strengthens ties with Kazakhstan

President Xi Jinping?said that?the Sino-Kazakhstan relationship has set an example of having equal treatment, mutual benefits and being friendly neighbors for international communities.

President Xi Jinping meets with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev during the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing May 14, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

The president made the remark on Wednesday, while calling on joint efforts to push forward the bilateral ties to a higher level, in a written statement at the Astana International Airport.

Xi was paying a state visit to Kazakhstan, which will continue on until Saturday. He will also attend the 17th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as the opening ceremony of Astana Expo 2017, during this visit.

"The two countries have strengthened political trust, pushed forward pragmatic cooperation in all areas steadily, and enhanced coordination in global and regional affairs in the past 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations," he said.

The president further extended sincere greetings and best wishes to Kazakh people during his third visit to Kazakhstan. He then mentioned the amount of times he met with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in the past few years, and said the two presidents had developed good work relations as well as a personal friendship.

"The development of Sino-Kazakhstan relationship has brought real benefits for the people of both sides," Xi said.

"I am looking forward to having intensive communications with Nazarbayev to draft the blueprint of bilateral ties."

In the written statement, Xi further expressed his hopes of exchanging views with all sides during the SCO summit, in a bid to push forward cooperation in all areas. The president said he was honored to attend the opening ceremony of Astana Expo 2017 and wished the expo great success.