“Soaring high like a golden eagle”: Xi Jinping and Sino-Kazakh friendship

Chinese President Xi Jinping receives the Order of the Golden Eagle, or “Altyn Qyran” Order, from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Ak Orda presidential palace in Kazakhstan, Sept. 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

The level of strategic mutual trust and mutual understanding between China and Kazakhstan is at its highest level.

BEIJING/ASTANA, July 1 (Xinhua) — A soaring eagle carrying the Sun adorns the Order of the Golden Eagle, Kazakhstan's highest honor.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping received the award from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in 2022, Xi envisioned a future where China-Kazakhstan relations would soar high like a golden eagle toward a bright horizon.

“A truly great leader,” Tokayev said when presenting the order, highlighting Xi's historic role in strengthening the friendship between the two countries.

As Xi Jinping prepares for an upcoming state visit to Kazakhstan, he is ready to build on this legacy of bilateral friendship and take China-Kazakhstan relations to even greater heights.

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During his state visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013, Xi Jinping first proposed the construction of a Silk Road economic belt, a key element of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Xi's first trip since the resumption of international travel after the COVID-19 pandemic was also to Kazakhstan. Xi told Tokayev: “I chose Kazakhstan. This underscores the high level and unique nature of China-Kazakhstan relations and reflects our profound friendship.”

“Incomparable” is how Xi Jinping has described bilateral relations. Decades after China and Kazakhstan established diplomatic ties in 1992, the two countries upgraded their relations to a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership in 2019 during Tokayev’s state visit to China. The two leaders pledged to build a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future during their talks in 2022 and 2023.

“The level of strategic mutual trust and mutual understanding between China and Kazakhstan is at an all-time high,” said Yang Bo, a professor at the School of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Shanghai International Studies University.

“This is precisely why in 2013 President Xi chose Kazakhstan as the venue to announce the Silk Road Economic Belt to the world, and facts have proved that this choice was very correct,” Yang said.

Bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative has been very effective. Through industrial collaboration, Kazakhstan has been able to secure a logistics base in Lianyungang, a coastal city on the Yellow Sea in China. The Western Europe-Western China Highway successfully connects the Asia-Pacific and Western European markets, stretching 8,445 km from Lianyungang through Kazakhstan to the Baltic Sea in St. Petersburg in Russia.

This aerial photo taken on May 9, 2023 shows a port in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province. The China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base, launched in 2014, is the first entity project under the Belt and Road Initiative. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)

Trade between China and Kazakhstan reached a record high of US$41 billion in 2023. Capacity and investment cooperation has generated a list of projects with a total value exceeding US$21.2 billion and continues to expand in the low-carbon sector with key achievements such as the Zhanatas wind farm, Turgusun hydropower station and Almaty solar power station.

“Many aspects of the cooperation are revolutionary,” Yang said, “thanks to the high level of strategic trust between the two sides, led by head-of-state diplomacy.”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY”

In recent years, China-Kazakhstan relations have seen considerable growth, mainly thanks to the leadership of the two countries, according to Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao.

Tokayev is a sinologist who speaks fluent Chinese and understands China well. He began studying Chinese while attending the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, where, years later, Xi Jinping developed his iconic vision of “building a community with a shared future for mankind” in 2013.

Tokayev studied Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University from 1983 to 1984, where he received excellent grades. He later served as a diplomat at the Soviet Union Embassy in Beijing.

Tokayev recalls living near Beijing’s Wudaokou district, home to several of the country’s top universities, and cycling through the hutongs to see China’s development firsthand. Tsinghua University, where Xi Jinping studied from 1975 to 1979, is also located in Wudaokou.

Speaking of Xi, Tokayev said: “We share deep trust. He is very wise, cultured, warm and friendly.”

“I believe that we will continue to maintain this personal relationship to ensure greater success in the overall cooperation between Kazakhstan and China,” he said.

A warm moment of interaction between the two leaders took place when Tokayev celebrated his 70th birthday in Xi's home province of Shaanxi in May 2023. On his birthday, Tokayev arrived in the ancient Silk Road city of Xi'an, also the capital of Shaanxi province, for a state visit to China and also for the first China-Central Asia summit.

Artists perform during a welcoming ceremony for Central Asian leaders and their spouses attending the China-Central Asia Summit at Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Zijian)

During his meeting with Tokayev, Xi said he was delighted to welcome him to Xi'an and wished him a happy birthday. “On this special occasion, your visit speaks volumes about the strength of our bilateral relations and reaffirms your unique bond with China,” he told him.

In October of the same year, Tokayev was invited to participate in the Third Silk Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the initiative. Tokayev delivered his speech in Chinese.

In his talks with Xi, Tokayev stressed that Kazakhstan is the birthplace of the Belt and Road Initiative. He underlined Kazakhstan's unwavering support and active involvement from the beginning. He told Xi: “China is a friend and partner that Kazakhstan will always trust.”

YOUTH AND FUTURE

Xi regards young people as the “pillar” of China-Kazakhstan friendship. “The common interest and ideal they share for life bring them together in true friendship.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R, foreground) meets with a delegation of teachers and students from Kazakhstan Nazarbayev University in Beijing, capital of China, June 24, 2014. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

During his first state visit to Kazakhstan in 2013, he met directly with students at Nazarbayev University. “Seeing so many young, beaming faces in the audience, I couldn't help but recall my own university days,” Xi said.

The Chinese president shared the story of young Kazakh Ruslan Tulenov, who was then a student at China's Hainan University and has a rare Rh-negative blood type called “panda blood” in China.

For a time, Ruslan insisted on voluntary blood donations to help Chinese patients. His life-saving gesture touched many people, including Xi Jinping, who called him an “envoy of China-Kazakhstan friendship.”

Recalling the unexpected recognition, Ruslan said: “I didn't expect him to mention an ordinary international student. It was a moment of deep warmth. President Xi is a caring person.”

Since graduation, Ruslan has taken on the role of global press officer at the Hainan International Economic Development Bureau, actively promoting the Hainan Free Trade Port globally. In 2022, he met Xi Jinping in person in Hainan. Calling Ruslan a “China expert,” Xi Jinping said, “We welcome more international talents to join us.”

Ismail Daurov is another young Kazakh who has made an impression on Xi Jinping. A doctor at the China-Kazakh Center for Traditional Medicine in Astana, Ismail never imagined that his offhand remarks would bring him closer to the Chinese president.

Ismail Daurov (L), a Kazakh student whose Chinese name is Ma Wenxuan, discusses with his classmate about their thesis at Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, June 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

“I am a foreigner, but not an outsider,” Ismail said during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, while pursuing his postgraduate studies at Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, he volunteered to help a local community in Xi’an.

Xi then quoted Ismail's remarks in a speech at a virtual summit marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and five Central Asian countries. The young Kazakh's words “touched the hearts of many people in China,” he said.

Xi Jinping's congratulations came as a big surprise to Ismail. The young Kazakh hopes to be able to treat more people in Kazakhstan with traditional Chinese medicine and “dedicate his life to treating people.”

“Young people are at the forefront of fostering people-to-people friendships,” said Serik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief of Delovoy Kazakhstan newspaper. “They will undoubtedly play a vital role in developing the lasting friendship between China and Kazakhstan and propel bilateral relations toward a future as bright as eagles in flight.”

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)