Kazakhstan's first president awarded Friendship Medal for contributions

President Xi Jinping presented the Friendship Medal, China's highest honor available to foreigners, to Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of Kazakhstan, on Sunday for his long-term commitment to bilateral relations.

Nazarbayev became the second individual to receive the medal, after Russian President Vladimir Putin in June. China established the medal in July 2017.

In his speech at the ceremony in Beijing, Xi lauded Nazarbayev as a politician with international prestige, an old friend and a good friend of the Chinese people.