( Interfax ) - The chairman of the Kazakh parliament, Kasymzhomart Tokayev, has expressed satisfaction with his first official visit to China in his current capacity and has described Kazakh-Chinese relations as "increasingly stable and increasingly extensive."
"I have had very good negotiations with chinese president Hu Jintao," Tokayev told reporters.
Hu "made a detailed analysis of the current state of Kazakh-Chinese relations and of the outlook (for them), emphasizing that he has a close, friendly relationship with the Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, a relationship that is marked with confidence," the parliamentary chairman said.
"This is a guarantee of success for Kazakh-Chinese cooperation in all fields," Tokayev said.
During a visit by Hu to Kazakhstan in August 2007, a set of documents was signed, including a cooperation program, Tokayev said.
During Tokayev's stay in China, Hu "stressed the need for specific documents that would be able to move ahead the implementation of this program," the parliamentary chairman said.
"In other words, he emphasized the need for coordinated joint work to put specific projects into practice," Tokayev said.
The chief of them are plans to lay an oil pipeline and a natural gas pipeline from Kazakhstan to China and a plan by Chinese company CITIC and Kazakh state fund Kazyna to set up a joint fund to finance Kazakh-Chinese non-raw material projects, Tokayev said.
"This would mean harmonious combination of cooperation in the oil and gas industry and in the non-raw material sector. For us, it is important in view of the unfavorable situation in world markets, and China, whose own market is very strong, may play an important role in stabilizing the situation in Kazakhstan," he said.
Tokayev also said he had held "interesting negotiations' with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (head of China's legislative branch).
Wu asked for the accelerated issue of Kazakh visas to Chinese technical personnel to be employed under joint projects, Tokayev said.
Tokayev said he had answered that the Kazakh and Chinese foreign ministries should draft an agreement to that effect. "I pointed out that this was a matter as sensitive as it is important," he said.
"I also raised the issue of more work to rationalize the use of the water resources of cross-border rivers. Considerable progress has been made in this matter, and this work needs to be continued," Tokayev said.
Tokayev also asked at his talks with Wu for Chinese authorities not to raise any bureaucratic obstacles to ethnic Kazakhs living in China moving to Kazakhstan for permanent residence.
"Wu Bangguo expressed understanding of this matter and pointed out that Beijing is changing its position on this issue and that there should be no obstacles," Tokayev said.
Tokayev also suggested that a Kazakhstan cultural center be opened in China, preferably in Beijing.
He also said the Kazakh prime minister is due to visit China in spring 2008 and that, at China's proposal, a set of documents is to be signed during the visit.
Furthermore, "we have reached an agreement" that Wu Bangguo would pay his first visit to Kazakhstan, most likely before a planned meeting in the Kazakh capital, Astana, of the heads of parliament of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, Tokayev said.
He said recent and planned visits by Kazakh leaders to China were "evidence that relations between our countries are becoming more and more stable and increasingly extensive in all spheres, not only in the trade and economic but also in the cultural and intellectual sphere."