Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived here Saturday for a working visit aimed at enhancing the strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan, Xinhua reported.
This is Hu's fourth visit to the Central Asian country as Chinese president since 2003. His two other visits were in 2005 and 2007 respectively.
In Astana, the Chinese leader is expected to hold talks with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev on further developing the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries.
China and Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations in 1992, and forged the strategic partnership in July 2005 when President Hu was in Kazakhstan on a state visit.
In recent years, the two countries have maintained frequent high-level contacts, enhanced political mutual trust, and expanded cooperation and collaboration within the multilateral framework. Pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has yielded fruitful results.
In 2008, two-way trade volume reached 17.5 billion U.S. dollars, up 26 percent from 2007.
Kazakhstan values its relations with China. Nazarbayev paid a five-day visit to China in April, during which the two countries signed a set of cooperation agreements on transportation, education, agriculture and telecommunications.
Hu and Nazarbayev agreed at their April talks to deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields and join hands to meet the challenge of the international financial crisis.
The Chinese leader is on a two-nation tour to Central Asia. He is scheduled to visit Turkmenistan on Sunday.
President Hu's visits to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan will boost China's friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with the two Central Asian countries, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya told a press conference Thursday.
"China will enhance cooperation with Central Asian states and make further contributions to peace and development in the region," he said.
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