Neighbors to press on with Silk Road

President says China and Kazakhstan will work closely in economic, security and cultural areas

President Xi Jinping first proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative 20 months ago in Kazakhstan, and on Thursday he and his counterpart in the Central Asian country agreed to step up cooperation over the trans-Eurasianmega project.

Xi was visiting Kazakhstan for the second time since he became president, and he is the first foreign leader to be received since President Nursultan Nazarbayev was reelected last month.