China's president begins visit to Kazakhstan, Russia

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Friday 08 May 2015 - 01:37 Makkah mean time-19-7-1436 China's president Xi Jinping Beijing, (IINA) - Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Thursday heading to Kazakhstan as part of a six-day state visit that will also take him to Russia and neighbouring Belarus, South China Morning Post reported. Xi will meet Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to jointly lay down a blueprint for future cooperation between the two countries. The foreign ministry in Beijing said future initiatives would include the Silk Road Economic Belt proposed by Beijing to develop trade and infrastructure linking Asia and Europe. Thursday’s visit will be Xi’s second visit to Kazakhstan in two years. Xi will arrive in Moscow for a three-day visit on Friday, during which he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Xi and Putin will define the priorities and direction of China-Russia ties and are expected to issue a joint statement on strengthening both countries’ partnership, the foreign ministry in Beijing said. The two heads of state are expected to sign energy and aviation deals and discuss the possibility of a Russian high-speed railway project. On Sunday, the Chinese president will embark on the final leg of his trip with a two-day visit to Belarus, the first visit by a Chinese president in 14 years. He will meet President Alexander Lukashenko and Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov and they will also discuss the Silk Road belt initiative. During the meetings, heads of government departments and enterprises from both sides will sign a series of documents covering cooperation in areas including trade, culture and education. SM/IINA