Wang Yi Speaks with Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi on the Phone

On January 21, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi.

Wang Yi congratulated Mukhtar Tleuberdi on his appointment as Kazakhstan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and congratulated Kazakhstan on its 30th anniversary of independence. Wang Yi also expected Kazakhstan to make great stride over the next 30 golden years.

Wang Yi said, the strategic guidance of the two countries' heads of state is the fundamental guarantee for developing China-Kazakhstan relations. In the past year, China and Kazakhstan have joined hands and helped each other in the face of the COVID-19, lifting bilateral ties to a high-level development despite difficulties. The two-way trade maintained a good momentum, and China-Europe freight train trips and freight volume rose against all odds, becoming the 'steel camel fleets' running across Eurasia. Next, China is willing to take the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries as an opportunity and take the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road as the mainline to push forward the bilateral cooperation in various fields. The two sides should align their cooperation plans, deepen cooperation in production capacity and investment, upgrade connectivity, promote cooperation in vaccine R&D, and procurement, explore cooperation in fields such as digital economy, e-commerce and artificial intelligence, and continuously inject new impetus into the development of bilateral relations.

Wang Yi said, international coordination is the touchstone for the strategic cooperation of the two countries. Thus, mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests should be a natural part of the China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. China supports Kazakhstan in playing a more important role within the frameworks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), and contributing more to regional peace and development. The U.S. side maliciously attacked and smeared China on issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong, wantonly interfered in China's internal affairs, and seriously violated the basic norms of international relations. He believes Kazakhstan will join countries that uphold justice in standing by the international equity and justice, and jointly rejecting bullyism, double standards and meddling in the internal affairs of other countries.

Tleuberdi said, Kazakhstan will remain determined to develop its ties with China, and will take the opportunity of the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence and the 30th anniversary of bilateral ties to plan high-level exchanges with China, push forward mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and take bilateral relations to a new level. Mutual support on international and regional issues is the mainline and core of the Kazakhstan-China permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. Kazakhstan abides by the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and believes that issues regarding Xinjiang and Hong Kong are purely China's internal affairs. Kazakhstan is willing to further strengthen cooperation with China within the frameworks of the SCO and CICA to jointly safeguard regional security and stability.