Lin Wu Led a Delegation of Shandong Province to Visit Kazakhstan: Embracing the Development Opportunities of the "Belt and Road" and Writing a New Chapter of Cooperation
From September 2 to 4, Lin Wu, Secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, led a delegation of Shandong Province to visit Kazakhstan.
During the visit, Lin Wu called on Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov and Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin, met with Kazakh Agriculture Minister Yerpol Karashukeyev and Almaty Mayor Erbolat Dosaev, introduced Shandong and discussed cooperation, reaching broad consensus. Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, SCODA, and relevant enterprises signed memorandums of cooperation in related fields with partners of Kazakhstan.
Lin Wu hoped the two sides could jointly open up friendly exchange channels, strengthen exchanges between governments and enterprises, deepen cooperation in food, agriculture, international trade, equipment manufacturing, cultural tourism, and other fields, promote the implementation of more industrial cooperation projects, jointly expand the high-level connectivity of SCODA and the China-Europe Freight Train (Qilu), strengthening people-to-people exchanges and forging a closer bond between the two peoples. He believed that through joint efforts, the friendly and cooperative relations between the two sides would surely be elevated to a new level.
The Kazakhstan side said they attached much importance to friendly cooperative relations with Shandong Province and would deepen the communication and exchanges with Shandong in various aspects, including mutually beneficial cooperation in agriculture, science and technology, transportation, logistics, trade, tourism, and other fields. Kazakhstan welcomes Shandong enterprises to invest and start businesses in Kazakhstan to contribute to the joint construction of the Belt and Road and bring more benefits to the two peoples.
On the morning of September 4, the China (Shandong) -Kazakhstan Cooperation and Exchange Conference & Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative opened in Astana. In his keynote speech at the event, Lin Wu said that we would like to work with various sectors in Kazakhstan to embrace the development opportunities of the Belt and Road, work together in local exchanges, win-win industrial cooperation, connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges to build future-oriented in-depth cooperation. The Kazakh guests said in their speeches that they hoped to take the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity to strengthen broader exchanges and cooperation at a deeper level and write a new chapter of friendship. A signing ceremony was held during the event, with 14 mechanisms and industrial projects signed, reaching a trade volume of 1.53 billion yuan.
During the visit, Lin Wu visited representatives of Shandong entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan and attended a seminar on Shandong enterprises in Kazakhstan. Lin Wu hoped that Shandong enterprises in Kazakhstan would seize opportunities, actively deepen and expand economic and trade cooperation with Kazakhstan, consciously establish a good image, fulfill social responsibilities, and hold the bottom line of safety. He required that the relevant departments and institutions of Shandong Province should actively solve the difficulties and problems encountered by enterprises, better protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, and constantly improve the quality and efficiency of cooperation between enterprises of the two sides.
During the visit, Lin Wu also attended the opening ceremony of the Almaty Assembly Center and the launching ceremony of the Center's first train of the China-Europe Freight Train (Qilu), and attended the Shandong Heavy Industry Group Global Partner Conference and Product Exhibition and toured the exhibition.
Arman Shakalyev, Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan; Malat Karabayev Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan; Zhang Haibo, Member of the Standing Committee and Secretary-General of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee; Zhang Xiao, Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan; and Jiang Wei, Consul General to Almaty attended relevant activities. Heads of relevant municipal and provincial departments of Shandong Province accompanied the visit.