Hu in Kazakhstan for working visit
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Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Astana Saturday afternoon for a two-day working visit to Kazakhstan.
President Hu paid the visit at the invitation of his Kazakhstan counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Hu was greeted at the airport by First Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeev and other senior officials of Kazakhstan.
During this visit, President Hu will hold talks with President Nazarbayev. They will exchange views on reinforcing traditional bilateral friendship, deepening practical cooperation in various fields and on major regional and international issues in an extensive way.
Hu will also donate books to the Confucius Institute of the Eurasia National University of Kazakhstan.
In a written statement released upon his arrival at the airport, President Hu expressed his belief that under the joint efforts of both sides, this visit will be a total success.
On an earlier occasion, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya said President Hu's visit would add new impetus to the strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan.
The two countries have maintained frequent contacts between their leaders over the years. This is the fifth time that Hu visited Kazakhstan, while Nazarbayev has made 16 tours to China since two countries established official links in 1992.
China and Kazakhstan have witnessed rapid and healthy progress of bilateral ties since they established diplomatic relations. The two countries formed a strategic partnership in 2005.
The two countries have continually deepened mutual trust and expanded mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, including economy, trade, investment, transportation, energy, security, education, culture, sports, science, technology and tourism.
"The two sides support each other on major issues concerning each other's core interests," Hu said in the statement.
The two countries signed a plan of cooperation in non-energy fields, in which they agree to advance large-scale projects in a bid to promote common prosperity.
Kazakhstan has become the largest trade partner of China in Central Asia. Two-way trade reached 17.55 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.
China and Kazakhstan have also joined hands to fight against terrorism, separatism, extremism and drug trafficking. They have conducted close cooperation in multilateral arena, including the United Nations (UN), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA).
"The two sides have made active contribution to promoting peace, stability and development in the region," Hu said in the statement.
Kazakhstan is the first leg of President Hu's two-nation Central Asia trip. He is expected to leave Kazakhstan for Turkmenistan on Sunday.
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