ASTANA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China's great progress and its development achievements are in accord with the core interests of Kazakhstan, and the Central Asian country is expecting more Chinese investment, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said here Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Nazarbayev called China "the closest and most reliable friend and partner" of Kazakhstan. He spoke highly of the efforts of both countries to revitalize the ancient Silk Road and hailed the tangible results in their cooperation.
"Kazakhstan attaches great importance to consolidating relations with China," the president said, noting that the alignment of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Kazakhstan's "Bright Path" new economic policy has been advancing markedly over the past five years.
"Currently, bilateral cooperation covers areas including transportation infrastructure, trade, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, among other sectors that have great potentials," he added.
With the China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight services coming into operation, Nazarbayev said the railways passing through Kazakhstan are expected to further expand the country's import and export volume.
Meanwhile, he mentioned the construction of a road connecting the western part of China with western Europe, saying the part of the road inside Kazakhstan has already been completed.
With regard to cooperation in production capacity between Kazakhstan and China, Nazarbayev said the two countries have a plan involving 51 projects worth 27 billion U.S. dollars that involve various fields.
The alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative and the "Bright Path" new economic policy "will bring fresh opportunities for the development of infrastructure on the Eurasian continent, as well as the growth of trade and two-way investment between Kazakhstan and China," the president said.
According to Nazarbayev, Chinese investment in Kazakhstan has exceeded 16 billion dollars since the Central Asian country's independence in 1991, and there are over 1,200 Chinese companies operating in the country as of now.
Besides the existing four cooperation projects related to machinery manufacturing and petroleum refining, the president said the two countries will launch six new projects this year in areas including metal smelting and the chemical industry, with a total investment of around 2 billion dollars.
On top of that, the two countries plan to form joint ventures in Kazakhstan to produce hi-tech products as well as those of high added value, Nazarbayev said.
Kazakhstan, he said, has rolled out a plan to significantly increase exports of processed products and is willing to attract more Chinese investment. The country has been systematically improving its investment environment to make its economy more attractive, he added.
Furthermore, Nazarbayev said trade in agricultural products between the two countries witnessed robust growth with the trade volume increasing 20 percent over the past five years, and Kazakh exports of agricultural products to China are twice the amount five years ago.
On people-to-people exchanges, Nazarbayev said a lot of cultural events held in Kazakhstan every year have seen China's participation, and people from the culture and arts community in the two countries have been visiting each other frequently.
With respect to the growing prevalence of Chinese language in Kazakhstan, the president noted that several Confucius Institutes have been set up in the country, and that Chinese has become the second foreign language taught in many Kazakh universities.
Mentioning in particular Dimash Kudainergen, the Kazakh pop singer who has become increasingly popular in China in recent years, Nazarbayev thanked the Chinese people for their passion for the singer. "It is an honor for the Kazakh people," said the president.
