Kazakh President addresses 4th China International Import Expo

NUR-SULTAN, November 5 (KAZINFORM) – Kazakh Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave a speech via video at the opening ceremony of the 4th China International Expo, Kazinform cites the Akorda press service. In his video message, Tokayev congratulated the participants of the event on the opening of the 4th China International Expo. «This year our friendly nations have approached the major milestones in their history. The 30th anniversary of independence of Kazakhstan and 100 years since the foundation of the Communist Party of China are marked. In two months, another remarkable event – the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and China – is to be celebrated. Today, I am sure that our all-round and eternal strategic partnership has embarked on a new stage. Dynamically developing China will always be our main and reliable partner in Asia,» said the President. The Kazakh Head of State also stressed that mutually bilateral cooperation paves the way for mutual development and prosperity on the vast Eurasian continent and that trade and economic relations that are a solid foundation of the two countries’ relations will continue developing in the long run. «Despite the difficulties, in 2020 alone the bilateral trade turnover rose by 5% and exceeded $15bn,» said the President, expressing his hope that the temporary restrictions in place on the Kazakh-Chinese border due to the pandemic will be removed soon and the interaction will be re-established. The Kazakh President noted that trade has been the main driving force in proliferation and international cooperation, which is to special significance for the Central Asian region that was a part of the Great Silk Road for centuries. «This ancient trade route was revived thanks to the large-scale initiative «Belt and Road» of Chairman Xi Jinping. Over 500 thousand containers are transported from China to Europe through Kazakhstan. After the launch of the Kuryk seaport the time to deliver goods from Khorgos to Istanbul via the Lianyungang-Kars corridor was reduced by 5fold from 60 to 13 days. Additionally, a new transborder hub is being build together with the neighboring countries,» said the Kazakh President. According to Tokayev, the pandemic battling the entire world has seriously damaged the global trade networks. Therefore, Kazakhstan will continue close cooperation with all interested parties to strengthen and diversity routes of regular transit transport and implement innovative logistics approaches. «Today’s 4th China International Expo is a center bringing together exporters from all over the world. Among attendees are manufacturers from over 120 countries, which demonstrates that the event is the «Golden Gates» into the large market of China. 30 major manufacturers of Kazakhstan have joined it. It is expected that they will sign contracts to supply food and agriculture products worth more than $100mln,» said the Kazakh Head of State. In conclusion, Tokayev wished the participants of the Shanghai Expo success and expressed hope that the horizons of mutual trade relations will be expanded.