Xi hails strong ties with Kazakhstan

China stands ready to maintain close communication with Kazakhstan to appropriately deal with various kinds of new problems and challenges and oppose external interference in Central Asian countries' affairs, and jointly maintain regional peace and stability, Xi said. 

Tokayev said that Xi's visit, the Chinese president's first foreign trip since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, fully demonstrated the two countries' high-level mutual trust and will surely become a new milestone in the history of Kazakhstan-China relations. 

As next year marks the 10th anniversary of Xi's proposing the Belt and Road Initiative in Kazakhstan, Tokayev said his country will continue to support and participate in the joint building of the Belt and Road.