China Key driving force of global growth: Kazakh President
Over the past decades, China's development has made great leaps in various key fields, Nazarbayev said in a written interview with Xinhua recently.
Kazakhstan and China are neighbors that have close cooperation in economic and political fields, said Nazarbayev, who will visit China on Feb. 21-23 at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Nazarbayev noted that currently there are more than 1,000 Chinese enterprises in Kazakhstan, which are cooperating with Kazakh companies to build oil and gas pipelines, highways, hydropower stations and factories, among others.
According to Xinhua, the latest statistics have showed that trade value between the two countries has almost doubled to surpass 20 billion U.S.dollars in 2010.
In the future, Kazakhstan hopes to deepen its cooperation with China, placing priorities on such areas as high technology and the construction of railways and highways, including high-speed railways, he said.
During the visit this time, the two sides are expected to sign a series of agreements on alternative energy, chemical industries as well as oil and gas projects, the Kazakh president said.
On cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Nazarbayev stressed that as the defender of regional security and stability, the status of the SCO is increasingly rising and China has made very important contribution to the consolidation of world and regional security.
The settlement of border issues between member countries through dialogue is the SCO's main achievement, he said, believing this helps enhance mutual trust and broaden multilateral and bilateral cooperation among SCO members.
One of the main functions of the SCO is to tackle terrorism, said Nazarbayev.
"We hold joint anti-terror exercises regularly and improve legal systems to tackle extremism effectively," he said.
In addition, he said, the economic cooperation within the framework of the SCO is also important, because the main social and economic issues in the region can only be solved through joint efforts made by all parties.
The SCO, established in 2001, includes six member states -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is marking its 10th anniversary this year.
Kazakhstan, this year's rotating chair state of the SCO, will host a SCO summit in its capital city of Astana on June 15 to review the development of the organization over the past decade and to discuss and formulate its future missions.
In the coming decade, the SCO should fully tap its potential and coordinate the interests of energy producers, transporters and consumers, said Nazarbayev.
In addition, the SCO members will see a broad prospect for their cooperation in culture, tourism, education and sports, he said, vowing that Kazakhstan will do its best to expand the SCO and enhance the organization's efficiency.
Nazarbayev also said that his country since 2010 has started an innovative industrial development plan aimed at fostering exports-oriented and technology-intensive industries in the country. He welcomed Chinese enterprises to invest in Kazakhstan.
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