China and Kazakhstan are friendly neighbors with mutual trust and win-win cooperation, and both sides are ready to convert that trust into more solid outcomes, said Premier Li Keqiang on Nov 22 when meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev in Beijing.

The two leaders met at the 4th China-Kazakhstan Regular Prime Ministers’ Meeting at the Great Hall of the People.

Several cooperation deals covering energy and investment, digital economy as well as many other areas have been signed.

Premier Li said China is willing to further expand its efforts in energy and other new fields, while at the same time ramping up efforts covering legal protection in investment between the two countries.

He called for more cultural and people-to-people exchanges by offering more convenient measures for people traveling between the two nations.

Premier Li also stressed the importance of multilateralism as well as the construction of a free trade system to maintain peace and stability in the region.

For his part, Sagintayev said his country is willing to push for the alignment between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Kazakhstan’s own Bright Road Initiative. He spoke highly of the frequent high-level exchanges between the two sides.

Sagintayev said Kazakhstan is willing to deepen cooperation in various fields with China, including trade, investment, agriculture and energy resources while enhancing personnel training with the world’s second largest economy. He said he is looking forward to pushing ties between the two sides to a new level.