Vice President Zeng Qinghong attended the swearing-in ceremony of reelected Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana today.

 

Nazarbayev won a landslide victory for another seven-year term by netting 91 percent of the votes in the presidential election in December last year.

 

Nazarbayev first became the country's president in 1991 and was reelected in 1999.

 

Delegations from more than 70 countries attended Nazarbayev's inauguration, according to the Kazakh foreign ministry. Presidents attending the ceremony include Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine.

 

The Kazakh side spoke highly of Zeng's presence at Nazarbayev's inauguration, saying it is a testimony to the traditional good-neighborly relations between the two countries and an important step to consolidate their strategic partnership.

 

In a joint communiqué signed by Zeng Nazarbayev, the two leaders vowed to promote the energy sectors of their countries as part of a bid to deepen cooperation.

 

It coincides with the growing interest of both sides to enlarge and deepen energy cooperation, the communiqué said.

 

The completion of the Sino-Kazakh Oil Pipeline linking Atasu to Alataw Pass on December 15, 2005 symbolizes the new phase of energy cooperation between the two countries, it said.

 

The two leaders also spoke highly of the fruits yielded in bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

 

They vowed to expand trade and mutual investment and strengthen cooperation in such fields as the economy and trade, energy, transportation, telecommunications and finance.

 

The Chinese side will continue to support the active measures adopted by Kazakhstan to carry out its industrial development strategy and enhance its economic competitiveness, according to the communiqué.

 

In the communiqué the two leaders also said by abiding by the Shanghai pact on battling terrorism, separatism and extremism signed on June 15, 2001 and the China-Kazakhstan treaty of cooperation on fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism signed on December 23, 2002, the two countries will strengthen their coordination and cooperation in security and law enforcement forces.

 

The two countries would also continue taking forceful steps in the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to combat the "three evil forces."

 

The Kazakh side reiterated that it adheres to the one-China principle, and Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. Kazakhstan opposes any attempt to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" and opposes "Taiwan independence."

 

Zeng arrived in Astana for a four-day official visit to Kazakhstan and Nazarbayev's inauguration.

 

During his stay here, Zeng also met Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, Chairman of Kazakhstan's Senate (upper house of parliament) N. Abykaev, Chairman of the Mazhlis (lower house) Ural Muhamedzanov, and Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Kemelevich Tokayev.

 

Relations between China and Kazakhstan have developed smoothly and rapidly since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992, featuring deep political mutual trust and close cooperation in economy, trade and energy cooperation.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2006)