ASTANA -- China will encourage investment in Kazakhstan and further economic cooperation in a bid to boost bilateral ties, visiting Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi said here on Thursday.

In the fourth meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee, Wu told her Kazak counterpart Umirzak Shukeev that China encourages companies to invest in such fields as machinery manufacture, telecommunication, building material, mine refine and transportation.

She spoke highly of the committee's work in promoting cooperation in various fields, saying the Sino-Kazak relations are developing soundly, which was marked with enhanced political mutual trust and fruitful achievements in trade, economy, humanities, transportation, energy and security sectors.

Shukeev hailed the bilateral relations, noting the frequent exchange of high-level visits have promoted the strategic partnership.

Kazak-Chinese cooperation has recorded arrays of positive results in agriculture, forestry, machinery manufacture, transportation, science and technology, as well as humanitarian fields, he stressed.

The two vice premiers agreed to further explore potential, expand cooperation in communication, railway, energy and resources, science and technology, finance and customs, and promote personnel, civil and regional exchanges as well.

They also proposed to speed up exchanges in education, media and culture sectors, strengthen bilateral law enforcement cooperation and in the multi-lateral framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organization to crack down on the "three evil forces" of separatism, terrorism and extremism, in a bid to push forward the China-Kazakhstan strategic partnership.