The friendly ties between China and Kazakhstan conforms to the fundamental interests of the people in the two countries and are conducive to peace and security in the region as well as the whole world, said Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan here Thursday.

Meeting with his Kazakhstani counterpart Erlan Idrisov, Tang said that the frequent exchange of high-level visits in recent years have set the friendly cooperative relations on a healthy track and the two sides have completely solved their historical border issue.

The establishment of the "Shanghai Five" comprising China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has also contributed to the enhanced mutual understanding and trust, Tang said.

He recalled the enhanced cooperation between China and Kazakhstan in diverse sectors including politics and trade, which has achieved significant results and still has massive potential.

Idrisov said that since Kazakhstan's independence ten years ago, it has carried out extensive cooperation with China in regional as well as international affairs. Kazakhstan hopes that the two sides will maintain the good cooperation momentum by expanding and deepening cooperation in all concrete sectors.

He reaffirmed that Kazakhstan supports China's reunification and is ready to continue its cooperation with China in the "Shanghai Five" as well as other regional and international organizations, in a bid to reinforce peace, stability and security in the region and push ahead the world's multi-polarization.

(Xinhua 02/15/2001)