Energy ties further boosted in Central Asia

The ongoing visit of President Xi Jinping to Kazakhstan will ensure more cooperation opportunities for Chinese companies in Central Asia, especially companies in the energy sector, said Bian Dezhi, a senior official at China National Petroleum Corp.

The energy sector has been the main sector of cooperation between China and Kazakhstan for around 20 years, and such cooperation has expanded since President Xi proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt in Astana, the Kazakh capital, in 2013.

In June 1997, CNPC, the nation's largest oil and gas producer and supplier, bought a 60.34 percent stake in China National Petroleum Corp AktobeMunaiGas, known as CNPC AMG, and obtained production licenses for three oilfields and a contract for an oil exploration block in Kazakhstan.