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Kazakhstan has established an unprecedented strategic partnership with China, and is willing to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields in accordance with its set policies, newly-reelected president Nursultan Nazarbayev said in Astana Monday.
When answering questions from Xinhua News Agency, Nazarbayev said that after its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan has been actively developing ties with China, and the exchanges of high-level visits in recent years have greatly boosted the development of bilateral ties.
He said bilateral trade and economic relationship has moved forward smoothly in recent years, with trade volume reaching about US$5 billion. The two countries' leaders have decided to make joint efforts to raise the volume to US$10 billion, he added.
Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan and China, both of which are members of the six-seat regional bloc of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), have also conducted effective cooperation in the field of energy.
He said the section of the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline extending from Atasu to Ala Pass will be completed on December 16. About US$700 million have been invested in the nearly 1,000-kilometer long pipeline, which can transport up to 20 million tons of oil annually.
Nazarbayev said China plays an important role in the SCO, and Kazakhstan would intensify cooperation with China in trade and economy, security and other fields within the bloc's framework.
Nazarbayev won a landslide re-election for another seven-year term by gaining 91 percent of the votes on Sunday.
(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2005)
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