Neighbors to press on with Silk Road

Updated: 2015-05-08 07:46

By Xing Zhigang in Astana, Kazakhstan and Zhang Yunbi in Beijing (China Daily)

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Neighbors to press on with Silk Road

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) holds talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana, Kazakhstan, May 7, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Earlier this year, the State Council issued a document officially outlining plans for the economic belt and a second initiative, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

ZhangHanhui, China's ambassador to Kazakhstan, said Nazarbayev's economic strategy, outlined last year has" resonated with the economic belt", and there spective development blueprints of the two countries "once again achieved a seamless docking".

The economic belt proposal also reflects calls from Eurasian countries for greater cooperation, Zhang said in an article published by People's Daily on Thursday.

Kazakhstan is a comprehensive strategic partner of China and one of its strategic footholds in Central Asia as it seeks to expand economically into Central Asia. The relationship is also an important factor in the campaign to curb terrorist and separatist forces.

China is the third-largest investor in Kazakhstan, with total investment exceeding $26 billion. More than 700 firms there are solely or jointly funded by Chinese.

China is the country's largest trade partner.

Kazakhstan has expressed a wish to become a transport and logistics hub along the Silk Road Economic Belt.

Last May, Xi and Nazarbay-ev attended the inauguration of a joint logistics terminal at a remote location in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, that gives the landlocked country an outlet to the Pacific Ocean.

Zhang said cross-border expressways, railways and oil and gas pipelines are "operating with great efficiency", and a range of international routes for cargo trains have been established.

"A network of transportation and logistics spanning the Eurasian continent is rapidly expanding," Zhang said.

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