Kazakhstan, China deepen cultural cooperation

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev inaugurated the Kazakhstan Cultural Center in Beijing on Sept 2, highlighting the bilateral relationship between China and Kazakhstan that has entered its second "golden 30 years".

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Tokayev emphasized that art and culture serve as golden bridges connecting different peoples. He noted the strengthening cultural and educational collaboration between China and Kazakhstan, citing the opening of new Lu Ban workshops in Kazakhstan and the establishment of a branch campus of Beijing Language and Culture University in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.

Speaking in Chinese, he said, "As an ancient Chinese saying goes, 'A single flower does not make spring; a hundred flowers in full bloom bring spring to the garden.' Only through mutual exchange and harmonious coexistence can different cultures, ideas, and civilizations foster the development of human society."

The spiritual and cultural ties between Kazakhstan and China have never been interrupted, and the establishment of the Kazakhstan Cultural Center in Beijing will play a significant role in further promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries, he said.

"If we have strong cultural and people-to-people exchanges, our friendship will be further strengthened," Tokayev said.

He noted that China and Kazakhstan have entered the second "golden 30 years" of collaboration, with bilateral relations developing at a very rapid pace and trade volumes continuously increasing. China is Kazakhstan's largest trading and investment partner.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, China-Kazakhstan bilateral trade value grew 6.8 percent year-on-year to $43.82 billion last year.

Tokayev said his official visit to China has achieved complete success, featuring substantive and effective talks with Chinese leaders. The two sides reached a broad consensus on cooperation across various fields, and he expressed strong confidence in the future of Kazakhstan-China relations.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Sun Yeli also attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Sun said that culture and tourism have become an indispensable and important part of China-Kazakhstan bilateral relations.

"The mutual establishment of cultural centers is an important measure to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state," Sun said. He said he believes that the cultural centers of the two countries will become an important channel for deepening institutionalized bilateral cultural cooperation, an important platform for cultural and artistic institutions of the two countries to carry out pragmatic cooperation, and an important window for the people of the two countries to appreciate each other's cultures.

The China Cultural Center in Astana was inaugurated in July last year.