China, Kazakhstan discuss key areas for future cooperation
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More than 20 Chinese, Kazakh officials, ranging from trade and energy to environment and transportation, met on Friday to lay out plans for future cooperation.
The meeting, the fifth one under the China-Kazakhstan Cooperative Commission, was co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeev.
"As an important governmental cooperation platform, the commission has played a very important role in boosting bilateral cooperation in various fields," Wang said.
Since its inception, the commission has done an effective and remarkable job over the past five years, Shukeev said.
The one-day meeting reviewed China-Kazakhstan cooperation in economy, trade, transportation, ports, customs, science and technology, finance, energy, mineral, culture, security, railway and environment over the past year.
"Both sides highly evaluated the achievements in those fields and reached consensus on key areas for future cooperation," according to a press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
But the release did not specify what those areas are.
China is Kazakhstan's third largest trade partner, as the bilateral trade volume registered a year-on-year increase of 27 percent to 17.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.
In the meeting, Wang said China and Kazakhstan have kept frequent high-level contacts, developed deeper political trust, and reaped harvests in their cooperation.
Wang said the two countries have supported each other on issues concerning their core interests and coordinated closely in multilateral framework like the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
