Kazakhstan Announces $30 Billion In Deals With China

Kazakh Prasident Nursultan Nazarbaev (right) welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to Astana on September 6.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev says Kazakhstan and China will sign more than 20 agreements worth a total of around $30 billion, including several deals in the key energy sector.

Nazarbaev said after talks with China's President Xi Jinping in Astana on September 7 that the two sides had reached an agreement on building a new oil refinery in Kazakhstan.

Xi said the two sides had agreed on China acquiring shares in Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan offshore oil project.

The Chinese president is on a four-country visit to Central Asian states aimed at increasing China's influence in the region.

Xi arrived in Astana on September 6 after attending the G20 summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

Calling the two countries important neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners, Xi said on September 6 that Chinese-Kazakh relations had brought concrete benefits to the two peoples.

After Kazakhstan, the Chinese president will head for Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan for state visits.

In Kyrgyzstan, he will also attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

He visited Turkmenistan on September 4 before traveling to the G20 summit.

Based on reporting by Reuters and ITAR-TASS