China ready to assist Kazakhstan to hold EXPO-2017
By Aynur Jafarova
China is ready to assist Kazakhstan to hold EXPO-2017, First Deputy Prime Minister Bakhytjan Sagintayev said on May 13.
He noted this issue will be discussed during Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's upcoming visit to China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited President Nazarbayev to pay an official visit to Beijing on May 19-20 and to attend the 4th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Summit in Shanghai.
"Currently, work is underway on a number of joint projects in the oil and gas, energy, mining and transport sectors," the deputy prime minister said.
It is expected to sign a $400 million framework agreement on cooperation between Kazakh Development Bank and the China Export & Credit Insurance, Sagintayev stressed.
The sides will also pay a particular attention to the joint use of transboundary rivers.
"It is necessary to note regulated mechanism for addressing issues of equitable distribution of water resources in transboundary rivers, such as Khorgos. There is an agreement between the parties on the construction of water distribution facilities on the Ulken Ulasti River," he said.
Sagintayev went on to say that cooperation of Kazakhstan and China in the oil and gas industry is developing rapidly. The question of financing the second stage of the Beyneu-Bozoi Shymkent gas pipeline has been resolved, and the construction of the second stage of the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline has started.
Touching on the bilateral trade between China and Kazakhstan, the deputy prime minister said the trade turnover between them amounted to around $5 billion in the first quarter of 2014.
He noted this figure is 11 percent more compared to the same period of last year.
Kazakhstan's export to China stood at $3.5 billion while the
import from China amounted to $1.4 billion.
"This positive trend suggests the possibility of achieving the goal
set by the head of state to increase trade with China to $40
billion by 2016," he stressed.
The Chinese - Kazakh relations have enjoyed rapid development since the establishment of diplomatic relations. China is the largest trading partner of Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan is China's second largest trading partner in the CIS region after Russia.