Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to visit Kazakhstan next week for talks with the Kazakh government as China seeks to expand its bilateral cooperation with the country.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Aibek Smadiyarov, said Monday that Xi will arrive in Kazakhstan on Sept. 14 and meet with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Reuters reported.
This will be Xi’s first trip abroad since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smadiyarov said the two leaders are expected to sign “a number of bilateral documents” but did not elaborate on the meeting.
China has been stepping up engagement with five Central Asian nations—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—which observers said may be reconsidering their ties with Russia as the Russia–Ukraine war drags on….