On the afternoon of April 16, 2009, Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev at the Great Hall of the People. The two heads of state agreed to deepen bilateral pragmatic cooperation in all fields, join hands to tackle the challenge of international financial crisis and push bilateral strategic partnership to a new level.

President Hu said the strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan had maintained a fast growth in recent years. The two countries have maintained frequent high-level contacts, political mutual trust, expansion of practical cooperation and good collaboration within the multilateral frameworks. Hu expressed gratitude to Kazakhstan for supporting China on such major issues as Taiwan, Tibet and the holding of Beijing Olympics and Paralympics.

Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan values the development of friendly and cooperative relations with China. He said China has raised its status in the international community by successfully holding the Olympic Games and launching the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft. He said the effective measures taken by the Chinese government to cope with the global financial crisis have benefited not only the Chinese economy, but also the world growth. Kazakhstan is ready to work with China to tackle the challenges posed by the global financial crisis, he added.

Hu said the Chinese government always gives priority to developing the strategic partnership with Kazakhstan. China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to push for greater progress of bilateral strategic partnership in the following four aspects. Firstly, the two countries should continue to enhance high-level contact, improve cooperative mechanism and deepen political links. The leaders of the two countries should maintain close contact. The governments of the two countries should give full play to the role of China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee to increase communication and coordination. The parliaments and political parties of the two countries should carry out exchanges of experience in various forms on governing their respective countries. Secondly, the two countries should utilize the complementarity of their economies to deepen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, energy, resources, non-resources and finance to achieve common development. The two sides should further optimize trade structure, expand the scale of bilateral trade, work together to build major energy and resources projects and non-resources projects, and accelerate infrastructure construction at border areas. Hu also urged both sides to create more favorable conditions for businesses of the two countries to expand cooperation. Thirdly, the two countries should promote cultural cooperation and cement the foundation for China-Kazakhstan friendship. China is ready to deepen cooperation with Kazakhstan in culture, education, health, tourism and sports. He said the two countries should encourage non-governmental organizations, media and youth organizations to expand contact and enhance friendship. Fourthly, the two countries should deepen security cooperation and join hands to tackle various challenges. He said China will continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Kazakhstan within such multilateral frameworks as the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. He said the two countries should join effort to combat transnational organized crimes and the evil forces of separatism, terrorism and extremism so as to safeguard peace, stability and security of the two countries and the whole region.

Nazarbayev fully agreed with Hu's suggestions on developing bilateral ties, saying under the new situation, Kazakhstan is ready to strengthen its strategic partnership with China. He expressed the willingness to expand bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, transport, agriculture, finance and communications. He said the two countries should continue to step up cooperation in multilateral areas, especially within the frameworks of the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. He said the two countries will work together to fight against the three evil forces of separatism, terrorism and extremism to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world at large. Nazarbayev reiterated that Kazakhstan supports China's position on the issues concerning Taiwan and Tibet. It supports China to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

After the talks, Hu and Nazarbayev signed a joint statement and attended the signing ceremony of relevant cooperation agreements.

Before the talks, President Hu held a welcome ceremony for President Nazarbayev at the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People. Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of China National People's Congress (NPC) Chen Changzhi, State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Bai Lichen, Vice Chairperson of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party Central Committee Wang Jirong, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission Zhang Ping, Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun, Director General of National Energy Bureau Zhang Guobao and Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Cheng Guoping attended the welcome ceremony.