On November 2, 2007, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met in Tashkent with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov.

Wen said Kazakhstan is a good neighbor and an important partner of China. The establishment of strategic partnership between the two countries is in the fundamental interests of their peoples and conducive to peace, stability and common development in the region.

Masimov said that Kazakhstan attaches great importance to its relations with China and the country wishes to enhance their bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

The two prime ministers agreed that as close neighbors with economies highly complementary to each other, China and Kazakhstan enjoy unique advantages and huge potential for developing cooperation of mutual benefit. The two countries should make the most of these advantages to deepen and expand practical cooperation. Both sides should, in accordance with the objectives set forth in the bilateral cooperation strategy for the 21st century and the blueprint for economic cooperation, strive to .advance such large cooperation projects as China-Kazakhstan Korgas International Border Co-operation Centre and natural gas exploration and pipeline construction, and extend their cooperation to areas other than energy production. Efforts should be made to simplify procedures to facilitate economic and trade cooperation and personnel exchange, they said. Wen hoped that the upcoming meeting of China-Kazakhstan cooperation committee will be a success so as to push for faster, better development of bilateral cooperation.