Neighbors maintain close, friendly relations

As friendly neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners, China and Kazakhstan have maintained close relations in varied areas, and Kazakhstan has benefited a lot from the Belt and Road Initiative, said the first president of Kazakhstan.

In an interview with China Daily on the sidelines of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which closed in Beijing on Saturday, Nursultan Nazarbayev said China and Kazakhstan has established close relationships in such sectors as mining, metal and petroleum.

He said that Lianyungang, a port city in Jiangsu province, has become logistics base that connects the landlocked Kazakhstan to the Pacific Ocean by freight trains.