Azernews.Az

ASTANA – CHINA and Kazakhstan on Monday signed a strategic partnership deal and vowed to double trade as President Hu Jintao visited the energy-rich Central Asian state to tighten already close ties, AFP reported.

Mr Hu held talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on the first leg of a tour of three ex-Soviet states which China hopes will result in a slew of new energy deals and increase its influence in the region.

'We are entering a new level of partnership and this is a solid basis. It completely meets the interests of our countries,' Mr Nazarbayev said after the strategic partnership agreement was signed.

'Development of such relaions is not a union and is not targeted against a third country,' the text of the joint statement released later on Monday said, adding that the Sino-Kazakh partnership serves as a foregn policy priority for both countries.

Mr Nazarbayev said that last year trade volume exceeded US$20 billion (S$25 billion) and in the first quarter of this year turnover already exceeded US$5 billion.

Mr Hu said that by 2015 the two sides now planned to 'increase trade turnover to US$40 billion'.