AKIPRESS.COM - On April 18, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli met with President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev, and held the 8th meeting of China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee with First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Uzakbaiuly Mamin, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a release.

In the meeting with Nursultan Nazarbayev, Zhang Gaoli discussed joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, further strengthening the integration of development strategies, deepening cooperation in major fields, and other questions of bilateral cooperation. China welcomes President Nursultan Nazarbayev to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) this May, and take this as an opportunity to push bilateral practical cooperation for new progress, the statement said.

In the meeting with Bakytzhan Sagintayev, Zhang Gaoli agreed that both sides should actively push forward the consultation and signing of the new version of investment protection agreement, make innovation in financing and guarantee methods, and enhance cooperation in investment and financing. Zhang Gaoli hopes that both sides could reach an agreement as soon as possible on holding activities within the “China Tourism Year” framework in Kazakhstan within 2017.

On the same day, Zhang Gaoli held the 8th meeting of China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee with Askar Uzakbaiuly Mamin. Both sides agreed to comprehensively deepen the “Belt and Road” construction, earnestly and well implement the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Outline on Docking the Silk Road Economic Belt Construction and the New Economic Policy of the “Bright Road”, continuously push forward cooperation in production capacity, economy, trade, energy and finance, constantly expand cooperation in connectivity, actively conduct cross-border cooperation in water resource, environmental protection, and people-to-people and cultural engagement, and strengthen bilateral cooperation in security, so as to jointly push forward bilateral cooperation towards a higher standard, a deeper level and a broader space.

During the meeting, Zhang Gaoli and Askar Uzakbaiuly Mamin jointly witnessed the off-line ceremony of China-Kazakhstan cooperation project on production capacity—Chinese automobiles assembled in Kazakhstan. After the meeting, both sides signed the minutes.