Kazakh Ambassador to China Shakhrat Nuryshev Photo: Kazakh Embassy in China

Kazakhstan is looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations with China, and the Kazakh president may visit China twice in 2023 to attend the first China-Central Asia Summit and the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Kazakh ambassador to China said on Friday.

The ambassador also said Kazakhstan supports China's solution for a peaceful settlement on the Ukraine crisis and holds a similar position on the matter.

After China released its position paper on the Ukraine crisis recently, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry issued a statement supporting this document, as we also called for relevant parties in the crisis to cease fire and resume peaceful negotiations in order to resolve the crisis in a diplomatic way, Kazakh Ambassador to China Shakhrat Nuryshev, told a group of reporters on Friday.

"Kazakhstan also held political consultations with China recently, exchanging views on global issues and hot topics in seeking common ground," the ambassador said.

Similar to China's diplomacy that seeks peace, Kazakhstan also firmly supports peace and believes that any crisis and conflict should be solved in a reasonable way.

Chinese Foreign Ministry released a 12-point position document on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis on February 24, including respecting the sovereignty of all countries and resuming peace talks.

The position paper also calls on abandoning a Cold War mentality, ceasing hostilities, and protecting civilians and prisoners of war. China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants or other nuclear facilities, noting nuclear weapons must not be used.

Chinese President Xi Jinping paid state visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in September 2022, his first trip abroad since the COVID-19 pandemic. The visit to Kazakhstan also underscored the Chinese top leader highly values the bilateral relations between China and the Central Asian country.

This year, we hope to strengthen and develop the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Nuryshev said.

Kazakhstan and China have been closely cooperating under the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other mechanisms, he said.

"These all show the high-level of mutual political trust between the two countries," the ambassador said.

Kazakhstan supports China's plan in holding the first China-Central Asia Summit and is willing to hold the second summit in Astana, he noted.

"Our president is looking forward to attend this summit, which is expected to be mutually beneficial as it's not only important for China but also for Central Asian countries," Nuryshev said.

Also, China will host the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation this year. The Kazakh envoy said they were aware of this information and look forward to learning more, which also means the Kazakh president may travel to China twice this year.

In 2022, the trade volume between China and Kazakhstan grew 23.6 percent year-on-year, to a record high of $31.17 billion, within which the agricultural cooperation has achieved particularly impressive progress. Railway freight volume of the two countries also reached a new record high, exceeding 23 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, according to official statistics.

Under the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Kazakhstan have achieved many concrete projects and we expect to launch more mutually beneficial cooperation with China, the ambassador said, who also expressed the willingness of pushing the bilateral ties to a higher level.