Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Kazakhstan for a state visit and a chance to promote ties between China and the Central Asian county as he embarks on a trip that includes meetings with the other leaders of the nine-member alliance known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev met his Chinese counterpart at the Astana international airport on July 2. TASS reported shortly after Xi's arrival that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Xi on July 3 in Astana as part of the SCO summit.
Putin last met Xi in May when he visited China on his first foreign trip after being inaugurated for a fifth term as president. Putin also will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Astana, TASS reported. Turkey, though not a member of the SCO, often takes part in its meetings as a "dialogue partner."
In addition to Kazakhstan, Russia, and China, SCO members include India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Kazakh state media outlets on July 2 carried an article signed by Xi in which the Chinse leader praised bilateral ties between the two nations, stressing it was "in Kazakhstan 11 years ago that I first proposed the initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt," which marked "a magnificent chapter in Belt and Road cooperation between our two countries."
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Xi wrote that China "will support Kazakhstan in upholding its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity in continuing on the development path suited to its national conditions, in implementing domestic and foreign policies in the interest of its development and prosperity, and in opposing interference in its internal affairs by any external forces."
Since Moscow launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many in Kazakhstan and elsewhere have considered statements from Chinese leaders regarding Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations to be a message to Russia, where in recent months, many pro-Kremlin politicians and political observers have hinted that Kazakhstan is a takeover target for Moscow.
Toqaev, in an interview with China's Xinhua agency published on July 2, said his country "has ambitious plans to further deepen multifaceted ties with China."
After ceremonies for the official state visit to Astana, Xi is expected to join talks with other SCO leaders.
He will later travel to Tajikistan. Beijing has ramped up diplomatic efforts in the region, largely through its flagship Belt and Road development.