Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held talks with visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Marat Tazhin on Monday, vowing to further strengthen the Sino-Kazakh strategic partnership.

Yang said the bilateral relations have deepened in recent years with close high-level contacts, increasing political mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation in various sectors.

"China is willing to work with Kazakhstan to fulfill the consensus reached by both leaders and agreements signed by both sides," he said.

Yang called on the two sides to deepen bilateral cooperation in the sectors including economy and trade, energy, non-resources and ports, maintain close coordination under the multilateral framework such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and jointly combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism.

Tazhin said Kazakhstan gives high priority to ties with China and firmly adheres to the one-China policy and supports China's principle stance on the issues relating to Taiwan and Tibet.

Tazhin said Kazakhstan will maintain close cooperation with China in cracking down on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, he said.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping also met with Tazhin on Monday.

During the meeting, Xi spoke highly of the rapid and healthy development of Sino-Kazakh relations. Both sides expressed the wishes to enhance cooperation and promote the development of bilateral ties.

According to Tazhin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is scheduled to pay a state visit to China in the middle of April at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao. He will also attend the 2009 meeting of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia (BFA) from April 17 to 19 in south China's Hainan Province.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2009)