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The U.S. women, who won team titles in 2012 and 2016, seem even more formidable, as Simone Biles has returned to superb form, winning the all-around world title in 2023 and taking a ninth national championship in 2024.

After the Tokyo Olympics, Biles took time to polish her signature Yurchenko double pike, upgrade her floor exercise, and recently produced a new dismount combination on bars.

But it’s not just Biles that makes the American team stronger. Reigning all-around Olympic champion Suni Lee and 24-year-old Jade Carey also stand out. Lee is known for her excellence on the uneven bars, while Carey is a valuable asset on floor and vault.

There are, however, quite a few notable contenders that may pose a serious challenge for the U.S..

China’s Qiu Qiyuan defeated Biles on the uneven bars at last year’s world championships, and is eyeing glory in Paris. “It’s competitive, but if I can finish it smoothly, I will have a chance to win the title,” Qiu said.

Qiu’s teammate Zhou Yaqin, with a brilliant display on the balance beam, is also a strong candidate for the Olympic title.

In the women’s team event, three athletes from each team compete on vault, balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise. “Vault and floor may not be our favorite,” said Qiu. “We hope to have consistent and well-performed routines to make up for the difficulty.”

Having a breakout year in 2023 by taking a first-ever team silver medal in the world championship, Brazil’s squad, led by Tokyo all-around silver medalist Rebeca Andrade, is on the hunt for an unprecedented Olympic team medal for the South American nation.

France’s women’s team, having never previously finished higher than fifth at an Olympics, is in contention for a medal after a strong showing for a team bronze at the world championships last year.

Paris 2024 Gymnastics Preview: U.S. women aim high, China, Japan vie for men’s title
Source: XinhuaEditor: huaxia2024-07-16 16:48:30

Gold medalist Simone Biles of the United States reacts during the awarding ceremony of women’s floor exercise final of the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium on October 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
The U.S. women’s gymnastics team aims for more gold medals at the Paris Olympics, while China and Japan contend for the men’s titles.

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) — The United States’ female gymnasts are looking to secure several gold medals at the upcoming Paris Olympics, particularly in the women’s team event, which they lost to the ROC at the Tokyo Olympics, while China and Japan will be the main contenders for the men’s titles.

The U.S. women, who won team titles in 2012 and 2016, seem even more formidable, as Simone Biles has returned to superb form, winning the all-around world title in 2023 and taking a ninth national championship in 2024.

After the Tokyo Olympics, Biles took time to polish her signature Yurchenko double pike, upgrade her floor exercise, and recently produced a new dismount combination on bars.

But it’s not just Biles that makes the American team stronger. Reigning all-around Olympic champion Suni Lee and 24-year-old Jade Carey also stand out. Lee is known for her excellence on the uneven bars, while Carey is a valuable asset on floor and vault.

There are, however, quite a few notable contenders that may pose a serious challenge for the U.S..

China’s Qiu Qiyuan defeated Biles on the uneven bars at last year’s world championships, and is eyeing glory in Paris. “It’s competitive, but if I can finish it smoothly, I will have a chance to win the title,” Qiu said.

Qiu’s teammate Zhou Yaqin, with a brilliant display on the balance beam, is also a strong candidate for the Olympic title.

In the women’s team event, three athletes from each team compete on vault, balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise. “Vault and floor may not be our favorite,” said Qiu. “We hope to have consistent and well-performed routines to make up for the difficulty.”

Having a breakout year in 2023 by taking a first-ever team silver medal in the world championship, Brazil’s squad, led by Tokyo all-around silver medalist Rebeca Andrade, is on the hunt for an unprecedented Olympic team medal for the South American nation.

France’s women’s team, having never previously finished higher than fifth at an Olympics, is in contention for a medal after a strong showing for a team bronze at the world championships last year.

In the men’s competition, 2021 world all-around champion Zhang Boheng of China, a long-time rival of reigning Olympic and world all-around champion Daiki Hashimoto, is set to challenge for his first-ever Olympic title.

Japan have also sent a strong team to join Hashimoto that includes NHK Trophy men’s all-around title winner Shinnosuke Oka. Finishing second in the team final at the Tokyo Olympics, Japan were crowned world champions in 2023 and are looking to repeat their success in Paris.

The gymnastics competition of Paris 2024 will run through July 27 to August 5.

As founding members of the SCO, China and Kazakhstan have always played active roles as advocates, promoters, and contributors to the development of the SCO and cooperation across various fields, he told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Over the years, the two countries have closely cooperated, promoting the SCO to actively adapt to the evolving international situation and the needs of member countries, he said, adding that the two countries have vigorously deepened mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, transportation, energy, agriculture, science and technology, education, and culture, and promoted high-quality development of the Belt and Road cooperation.

Several SCO member countries are also participants in the cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), he said, adding that the political, economic, and people-to-people cooperation under the SCO framework highly conforms to the five major areas of the BRI, namely policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and closer people-to-people ties.

The Shanghai Spirit practiced by the SCO also aligns closely with the core values of the Silk Road Spirit, he added.

The SCO has established a comprehensive security cooperation mechanism, including joint drug control, combating the “three forces” — terrorism, separatism, and extremism, as well as transnational organized crime, and provided a solid security shield for the BRI, he said.

SCO member countries are committed to cooperation in science and technology, culture, education, tourism, environmental protection, and health, laying a solid foundation of public support for the BRI, said the ambassador.

The SCO’s practical cooperation is increasingly deepening, not only promoting economic development and improving people’s livelihoods in related countries but also providing important support and continuous momentum to the enhancement and upgrading of the BRI, he said.

Zhang said that China and Kazakhstan are good neighbors, good friends, and good partners. Over the past 32 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, bilateral ties have withstood the test of changing international dynamics and achieved new breakthroughs.

Under the guidance of the two heads of state, the cooperation mechanisms at various levels between China and Kazakhstan have been operating smoothly, with new breakthroughs continuously made in various fields, injecting new momentum into the development of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields, he said.

Noting that both countries firmly support each other on issues concerning their core interests and in safeguarding their respective sovereignty, security and development interests, Zhang said they also resolutely oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs and double standards, while pursuing cooperation through practical actions for common development despite differences among civilizations and social systems.

Zhang said that China and Kazakhstan have yielded fruitful results in the Belt and Road cooperation, and enhanced cooperation in fields such as automobile manufacturing, cross-border e-commerce, new energy, cultural exchanges, and higher education.

The two countries closely cooperate within the frameworks of the United Nations, the SCO, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and the China-Central Asia mechanism, practicing true multilateralism and jointly promoting the international governance system to develop in a more just and reasonable direction, he added.

The ambassador said that the two countries have been continuously deepening people-to-people exchanges, achieving fruitful products in education, science and technology, culture, tourism, and archaeology cooperation.

The two countries will continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, create more efficient and convenient platforms to this end, and lay a more solid foundation of public support for developing the China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, he said.

He said that China-Kazakhstan relations have entered a new “golden 30 years” facing new opportunities and challenges.

Taking President Xi Jinping’s coming visit as an opportunity, China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to strengthen strategy alignment and policy coordination, deepen mutual political trust, and jointly build a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future featuring everlasting friendship, strong mutual trust and solidarity, so as to make joint contributions to regional and global stability and development, he added.

As leaders of the SCO prepare to meet here for a new gathering, the question remains relevant as the world is increasingly defined by geopolitical tension and economic uncertainty.

Against this context, the SCO’s growing cooperation and commitment to enhancing connectivity is a strong example of unity and progress achieved through working together.

It keeps the region safe and makes important contributions to world peace, prosperity, and long-term progress in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Since its inception in China’s Shanghai in 2001, the SCO has expanded from a regional organization with six members into a trans-regional organization with nine full members, three observer countries, and 14 dialogue partners, covering over 60 percent of the Eurasian landmass and nearly half of the world’s population.

This remarkable growth underscores the SCO’s importance as a platform for fostering multilateral cooperation and addressing shared challenges.

In a world grappling with rising bloc confrontations and isolationist tendencies, the SCO stands as a steadfast advocate for connectivity and cooperation, as well as openness and inclusiveness.

The SCO’s structure facilitates a wide range of initiatives aimed at increasing connectivity and deepening cooperation. For example, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, illustrates the organization’s dedication to cooperative security.

Through joint military exercises, intelligence sharing, and coordinated efforts to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, the SCO enhances regional security and stability. This cooperative security framework has reduced the potential for conflicts and fostered a safer environment for all member states.

As a trans-regional cooperation mechanism, the SCO not only focuses on security but also on economic connectivity. This dual focus contributes to a stable and prosperous environment throughout the broad Eurasian region, encouraging sustainable development and improving the quality of life for its people.

For years, economic initiatives like the SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Consortium have promoted trade and investment among its member countries, and the SCO’s commitment to economic connectivity and integration is further demonstrated through its support for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

With its location and diverse membership, the SCO is a key partner of the BRI, and the BRI cooperation has facilitated the development of transport corridors, energy projects, and communication networks that link SCO member states and beyond.

A prime example is the agreement on constructing the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, reached in early June. Once completed, this railway will significantly shorten the time required to transport Central Asian products to major global markets. It will also facilitate the integration of Central Asia into global industrial and supply chains, thereby boosting regional development.

As SCO countries enhance their cooperation, the organization is poised to play an even greater role in shaping regional dynamics, not just through security and economic cooperation, but also by enhancing mutual understanding among its member countries.

By promoting educational exchanges, tourism, and cultural events, the SCO helps break down barriers and build bridges between diverse cultures.

As a network of universities from SCO member states that cooperate on research and education, the SCO University enhances academic and professional opportunities and builds a foundation for long-term cooperation and goodwill among future leaders.

Overall, this holistic approach has underscored the SCO’s commitment to fostering a stable, prosperous, and interconnected region, and highlighted the lasting vitality of SCO’s bedrock principle — the Shanghai Spirit, which features mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development.

As the world faces unprecedented challenges, the SCO’s steadfast commitment to connectivity, cooperation, and multilateralism offers a beacon of hope for a more harmonious and prosperous future.

Xi’s trip, which includes a state visit to Kazakhstan and attending the 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, bears great significance, Shaimergenova said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

“President Xi’s presence at the summit highlights China’s leadership role and its vision for a more interconnected and prosperous region,” she said.

The visit also demonstrates China’s focus on regional cooperation and its strategic interests in the region, and will “strengthen the unity and effectiveness of the SCO,” she added.

The expert noted that over 23 years since its establishment, the SCO has successfully developed an effective model for maintaining and strengthening regional security, and has also “become a driving force for economic integration and development.”

“Member states have leveraged the organization’s strengths to deepen trade ties, enhance connectivity, and unlock investment opportunities,” she said.

Meanwhile, she pointed out that Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the SCO during the past year came amid increasing geopolitical tensions, growing challenges, and the risk of worsening and new conflicts.

Despite all the challenges, “Kazakhstan will make every effort to modernize the organization and further transform it into a more effective multilateral platform to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and traditional ties of friendship between SCO member states,” she said.

Relations between Kazakhstan and China have also been steadily progressing in the spirit of friendship, good neighborliness, and a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. The leaders of both countries have opened a new “golden 30 years” of bilateral cooperation, Shaimergenova said.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has visited China three times since 2023, and the mutual trade turnover between the two countries has reached an unprecedented level of 41 billion U.S. dollars last year, she said.

Kazakhstan and China must develop comprehensive cooperation in key areas such as trade, economy, energy, finance, transport, nuclear industry, mechanical engineering, tourism, e-commerce, and high technology, according to the expert.

“Kazakhstan and China are close neighbors, true friends, and partners. Today, both countries are at a key stage of their development and revival,” she said.

Joint work of the SCO member states will bring tangible benefits, which will contribute to long-term peace, stability and economic prosperity in the region, said the expert.

During the summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana, Xi will discuss with his SCO colleagues development blueprints and build up consensus on cooperation, which is poised to add new impetus to maintaining peace and prosperity on the Eurasian continent and beyond.

Countries on the vast Eurasian continent share a long history of exchanges, similar development tasks and a closely linked future. Xi’s trip is expected to enhance China’s cooperation with respective countries and help build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

STRONGER TIES

In early June, Xi, along with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, applauded via video link the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project.

The railway is a strategic project of connectivity between China and Central Asia that demonstrates their commitment to common development through cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The project is the latest example of the SCO family’s cooperation and solidarity under the guidance of the “Shanghai Spirit.”

The SCO was created 23 years ago with the “Shanghai Spirit” being its founding values, which champion mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development. Now, with nine member states, three observer states and 14 dialogue partners, it is the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographical scale and population.

Xi has attended every SCO head-of-state summit since 2013, including through live videoconferences during the COVID period, and shared his thoughts and proposals on building stronger SCO ties and promoting development.

Maintaining regional peace and security is the cornerstone of SCO cooperation. In recent years, SCO members have strengthened coordination in combating the “three evil forces” of terrorism, separatism and extremism, tackling drug trafficking, as well as safeguarding security in cyberspace and outer space.

A major driving force of the SCO’s development is an orientation towards economic growth and practical cooperation.

The SCO has witnessed flourishing trade and investment cooperation among its members, with its share of global trade rising from 5.4 percent in 2001 to 17.5 percent in 2020, according to China’s customs data.

People-to-people exchanges and mutual learning have become another key component of SCO cooperation through the years.

The bloc has witnessed burgeoning projects and activities, including the 2024 “Chinese Bridge” Spring Camp for students from SCO countries, which opened in Xinjiang in April, and the SCO agricultural universities alliance, which now fosters exchange of agricultural talents among over 20 universities from SCO member states.

Belt and Road cooperation between China and other countries has yielded fruitful results, promoting connectivity and socio-economic development of regional countries, former SCO Secretary-General Bolat Nurgaliyev said.

This is an epitome of the countries’ cooperation based on equality and mutual benefit, and an important manifestation of the “Shanghai Spirit,” he said.

ANOTHER GOLDEN 30 YEARS

China and Kazakhstan share a border of roughly 1,700 km and a long history of friendly exchanges between their peoples. Xi used “good neighbors, good friends and good partners” to describe the profound friendship between the two countries.

The strategic guidance of the two countries’ heads of state is a distinctive feature of China-Kazakhstan relations. During a state visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013, Xi proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt, an essential component of the BRI.

When Xi visited the Central Asian nation again in September 2022, he received the Order of the Golden Eagle, the highest honor of Kazakhstan, from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The two leaders announced that China and Kazakhstan will work for building a community with a shared future defined by lasting friendship, a high degree of mutual trust and sharing weal and woe.

The year 2022 marked the 30th anniversary of bilateral ties. In 2023, Xi and Tokayev met twice in China. They pledged that the two countries are ready to create another 30 years of golden period for bilateral relations.

The two countries have built a full-fledged connectivity network to facilitate cross-border transport and trade. Thanks to cross-border railways, land border crossings and other logistic and trade facilities, China-Europe freight trains rumble like modern-day camel caravans, delivering products made in China to Central Asian and European countries, as well as wheat, fertilizers and other products from the landlocked country to China’s Pacific harbors.

China was Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner in 2023, with two-way trade up by 32 percent year-on-year to reach 41 billion U.S. dollars.

A variety of cultural and people-to-people exchanges serve as bridges to further strengthen their friendship.

The entry into force of the agreement on mutual visa exemption is expected to increase cross-border travel. The Luban Workshop, a Chinese vocational workshop program training talents overseas, has been operating in Kazakhstan since last year.

With Kazakhstan-China relations growing at a high level, it is believed that Xi’s visit to Kazakhstan will open up new prospects for bilateral cooperation, said Gulnar Shaimergenova, director of Kazakhstan’s China Studies Center.

NEW IMPETUS

Since the establishment of China-Tajikistan diplomatic ties more than 30 years ago, bilateral relations have withstood the test of the evolving international landscape and achieved a leapfrog development.

In recent years, Xi and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon have maintained frequent interactions, forging a profound friendship and facilitating the growth of bilateral ties.

In September 2014, Xi paid his first state visit to Tajikistan. Rahmon accompanied Xi for nearly 10 hours and warmly received him with a family banquet. “Good brothers walk hand in hand,” Rahmon said.

When Xi revisited Dushanbe in June 2019, he received the Order of the Crown from Rahmon. The two heads of state signed a joint statement on further deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership.

During the China-Central Asia Summit in May 2023, the two presidents jointly announced the building of a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future featuring everlasting friendship, solidarity and mutual benefit, setting a clear goal for the development of bilateral relations.

Tajikistan is one of the first countries to support the BRI and sign cooperation documents with China. Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries has yielded fruits, including the construction of the China-Tajikistan highway.

The two sides are also exploring cooperation in green technology, digital economy and artificial intelligence to boost high-quality development.

Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of Tajik students in the country’s Confucius Institutes or in China. The first Luban Workshop in Central Asia has been operating in Dushanbe for two years, grooming many talents for Tajikistan’s vocational education and the country’s industrialization and modernization.

“Tajikistan and China are the closest neighbors and partners,” said Qanoatullo Saifulloev, deputy director of the state-run Khovar News Agency, adding that he believes Xi’s upcoming state visit to his country will promote the continued development of bilateral relations and benefit the two brotherly peoples.

Xi made the remarks in a written statement upon his arrival in Astana for a state visit to Kazakhstan, where he will also attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The Chinese president said he is delighted to visit the beautiful country of Kazakhstan at the invitation of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and to attend the SCO summit, adding that he, on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, conveyed sincere greetings and best wishes to Tokayev and the friendly Kazakh people.

China and Kazakhstan share a long tradition of friendship, Xi noted.

More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Silk Road closely connected the two countries, marking the beginning of a history of friendly exchanges, he said.

Over the past 32 years since China and Kazakhstan established diplomatic ties, the relationship has withstood the test of time and the vicissitudes of the international landscape, evolving into a unique permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi added.

He also said that the everlasting friendship of the two nations has grown stronger over time, and set an example of solidarity, mutual benefit, and mutual success between neighboring countries.

Xi recalled that 11 years ago, he first put forward the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt in Kazakhstan, adding that today, Belt and Road cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has yielded fruitful results.

Two-way economic and trade cooperation has reached new highs, people-to-people and cultural exchanges have featured numerous highlights, and the two sides’ international cooperation has been close and efficient, which has not only improved the well-being of the two peoples, but also injected more stability and positive energy into the international and regional situation, Xi added.

He said that during the visit, he will have talks with President Tokayev and have an in-depth exchange of views on China-Kazakhstan relations, all-round cooperation and other international and regional issues of common concern, in a bid to make new plans and arrangements for the development of China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership.

Xi also said that he looks forward to attending the SCO summit, and discussing with all parties the future of the organization and ways to advance cooperation, so as to achieve new and greater progress for this important multilateral mechanism.

Three Kazakh Air Force fighter jets took off to escort Xi’s plane after it entered the country’s airspace. Tokayev held a grand welcoming ceremony at the airport to welcome Xi. A group of Kazakh children sang the song “Ode to the Motherland” in Chinese.

On Tuesday evening, Xi and Tokayev had a cordial and friendly exchange over dinner in a pleasant and warm atmosphere, discussing issues related to China-Kazakhstan relations and issues of common concerns.

This is Xi’s fifth visit to Kazakhstan and the second one in less than two years, following his previous state visit in September 2022. The visit this time is expected to bring a renewed focus on the multifaceted aspects of bilateral ties and cooperation.

Calling the China-Kazakhstan partnership “unique,” Xi said upon his arrival here that the everlasting friendship of the two nations has grown stronger over time, and set an example of solidarity, mutual benefit, and mutual success between neighboring countries.

In a series of meetings scheduled with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Xi is expected to engage in detailed discussions aimed at further strengthening cooperation between the two nations. The focal points of these talks are expected to cover trade and investment, infrastructure development, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

“The leaders of our countries launched a new ‘golden 30 years’ of cooperation between Kazakhstan and China,” said Gulnar Shaimergenova, director of Kazakhstan’s China Studies Center, referring to a joint announcement by the two heads of state during Xi’s visit in 2022.

With Kazakhstan-China relations growing at a high level, it is believed that Xi’s visit to Kazakhstan will open up new prospects for bilateral cooperation, she said.

During Tokayev’s visit to China in 2019, the two countries decided to elevate their ties to a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. Speaking at a daily briefing in Beijing on Monday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that it is expected that Xi’s visit this time will further strengthen bilateral relations.

The deepening mutual trust and political ties between China and Kazakhstan have been accompanied by a remarkable growth in their trade and economic cooperation over the past three decades.

China was Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner in 2023, with two-way trade up by 32 percent year-on-year to reach 41 billion U.S. dollars. Key exports from Kazakhstan to China include crude oil, metals, and agricultural products, and in turn China has supplied Kazakhstan with machinery, electronics, and consumer goods, according to Kazakh government data.

The Central Asian nation has also become a critical partner in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to boost connectivity and promote global prosperity through infrastructure development and trade and investment facilitation. It was in Kazakhstan in 2013 that Xi first proposed the initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

“This marked a magnificent chapter in Belt and Road cooperation between our two countries. And the development of China-Kazakhstan relations has since entered a new stage,” Xi said in a signed article in the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper and Kazinform International News Agency on Tuesday.

Since then, the two countries have made significant strides in enhancing connectivity and economic integration through various BRI projects.

Among the recently completed and commissioned ventures are the Zhanatas wind farm, the Turgusun hydropower station, and the modernization of the Shymkent Oil Refinery. These developments underscore the robust energy cooperation fueling both countries’ development. The China-Kazakhstan crude oil and natural gas pipelines are also operating with remarkable stability and safety, ensuring a consistent energy supply vital for both economies.

This dynamic partnership has also extended into transportation infrastructure, with key transport and logistics hubs, such as the terminal in Xi’an, the Western Europe-Western China Highway, and the China-Europe Railway Express, functioning seamlessly.

BRI’s support for cross-border transport infrastructure has benefited Kazakh connectivity, according to a World Bank report, entitled “South Caucasus and Central Asia: The Belt and Road Initiative Kazakhstan Country Case Study.”

For more than a decade, Kazakhstan has invested substantially to improve its own transport network, but due to more limited improvements in trade facilitation and limitations of resources in many neighboring countries, the gaps have been difficult to fill.

The focus of BRI on expanding transport infrastructure and economic integration and China’s drive to connect its western and central regions more effectively to Europe and to West Asia provide an opportunity to address these gaps, according to the World Bank report.

“Kazakhstan is likely to be among the larger beneficiaries of the BRI,” it concluded.

Meanwhile, consensus on deepening cultural and people-to-people exchanges is expected to be reached during Xi’s visit. Both nations have for long recognized the importance of fostering greater understanding and friendship between their peoples, viewing cultural exchanges as one major cornerstone of their bilateral relationship.

So far, a China-Kazakhstan agreement on mutual establishment of cultural centers has been signed. Chinese and Kazakh filmmakers have co-produced a film entitled “The Composer,” which is their first co-production. Bilateral programs for cultural cooperation, including a Chinese university campus in Kazakhstan, a Luban Workshop, and a center of traditional Chinese medicine, have been implemented.

Thanks to the mutual visa-exemption arrangements, a total of 600,000 cross-border trips were recorded in 2023. In the first quarter of this year, the number of visits in both directions amounted to 200,000 and are expected to reach a new high, official data from both sides have shown.

In an exclusive written interview with Xinhua before Xi arrived here, Tokayev emphasized the significance of cultural and people-to-people communications between the two countries, as the opening ceremony of the “Kazakhstan Tourism Year” in China was held in March in Beijing.

“Cultural and people-to-people cooperation plays an important role in strengthening bilateral ties and fostering friendship between the peoples of our countries,” he said.

Xi landed in Astana earlier for a state visit to Kazakhstan. He will also attend here the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The group of teenagers, in white costumes, sang the song “Ode to the Motherland” in Chinese lyrics in a show of respect and warm welcome of the Kazakh people for Xi.

The song was written in 1950, almost a year following the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It has been quite popular among the Chinese people, resonating deeply with their pride in and love for their homeland.

Watching with smile on their faces, Xi and his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, applauded the teenagers’ performance.

After the performance, some of the young singers talked with Xi.

“Hello, esteemed Grandpa Xi. Welcome to Astana, Kazakhstan … It is our honor to meet you and we like you,” said one of the teenagers. She also told Xi that she started learning Chinese since childhood, because she wanted to go to Tsinghua University in China when growing up.

Xi, who graduated from Tsinghua University, wished they can go to good universities in the future, saying they are welcome to study in China.

It is Xi’s fifth visit to Kazakhstan since becoming Chinese president in 2013. When his plane entered the Kazakh airspace, it was escorted by three Kazakh Air Force fighter jets.

Tokayev greeted Xi at the airport together with a team of senior government officials including First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu.

As the Chinese leader walked down the gangway, nearly 100 Kazakh children were waving Chinese and Kazakh national flags, cheerfully chanting “Nihao,” or hello, in Chinese.

Accompanied by the music performed by the military band, Xi and Tokayev strolled along a blue carpet. Blue is the background color of the Kazakh national flag and a hue cherished by the Kazakhs. In the Central Asian country, blue means pure sky, peace and prosperity.

At the airport, Xi also chatted occasionally with the Kazakh president, who can speak fluent Chinese. In a recent interview with Xinhua, Tokayev said he now reads books in Chinese regularly and stays informed about Chinese political and socio-economic development.

Tokayev began learning Chinese when he was in college. He also studied in Beijing Language and Culture University from 1983 to 1984, where he achieved top grades.

In a written statement upon his arrival, Xi conveyed sincere greetings and best wishes to Tokayev and the friendly Kazakh people on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

He hailed the uniqueness of China-Kazakhstan partnership.

“Over the past 32 years since China and Kazakhstan established diplomatic ties, the relationship has withstood the test of time and the vicissitudes of the international landscape, evolving into a unique permanent comprehensive strategic partnership,” Xi said.

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