Foreign and Military Affairs

Central Asian visit to enhance security

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-11 07:49

President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, who are both vital to China's economic and anti-terrorism efforts, will boost bilateral ties with the neighboring Central Asian countries, a senior Chinese diplomat said Thursday.

During the visits from Dec 12-14, Hu will hold talks with his Kazak counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, said Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Guangya.

"China will enhance cooperation with the Central Asian states and make further contributions to peace and development in the region," he said.

China and these two countries have maintained frequent high-level visits and deepened political trust.

"We are neighbors and share reciprocal advantages, which fuel our cooperation in such areas as trade, economy, investment, communication, energy, society and culture," Wang said.

China and Kazakhstan carried out effective cooperation against separatism, extremism and terrorism, and have worked within the framework of the SCO and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, he said.

Hu and his counterparts from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will also attend a ceremony to mark the completion of a 1,833-km trans-Asia gas pipeline that stretches from Turkmenistan to China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, crossing Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

"Such a project is a model of mutually beneficial cooperation between the four states, and displays our desire to bolster economic cooperation and realize common development," Wang said.

China Daily-Xinhua