Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan met in Beijing Tuesday with Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Vladimir Sergeyevich Shkolnik.  

Zeng said the friendly neighborly relations between China and Kazakhstan have developed rapidly since the two countries established diplomatic relations, with the cooperation achieving effective progress in all areas.

The economies of the two nations are very complementary, with promising future cooperation in energy and mineral resource area, Zeng said. He hoped two nations would strengthen exchanges as well as expand the length and breadth of cooperation on the base of equality and mutual benefit.

Shkolnik said he believed cooperation in energy and mineral resources will achieve great progress with the push of both governments.

(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2004)