Xi's visit significant: Kazakh president(2)

Four Confucius Institutes were opened in Kazakhstan's major cities, Almaty, Astana, Karaganda and Aktobe, he said.

China is becoming a popular destination for holidays, education and business among Kazakhs and more Chinese citizens are coming to Kazakhstan, which is the most reliable way to develop people-to-people diplomacy, the president said.

Cooperation on education should play an important role in this aspect. "The more actively our young people communicate, the stronger our friendship will be in the future," he said.

Currently there are about 8,000 Kazakh students studying in China and the number is increasing annually. Kazakh universities offering world-class education also welcomed Chinese students, the president said.

Nazarbayev said the model of the two countries' relationship, which is based on equal dialogue and open discussion of all matters, means they have no irreconcilable differences, with Kazakhstan-China strategic cooperation on transboundary water resources an example.

Nazarbayev also said Kazakhstan saw the SCO as a versatile and multi-functional mechanism, a guarantee of security and stability in the region, which covers a vast territory in Eurasia.

The SCO should be a key platform for cooperation in preventing and combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, he said, adding it needs to strengthen its role in the fields of institutions, organization and legislation.

The SCO should seek to achieve balanced development in the fields of security, economy and culture, and the strategic priority of the coming 10years is to intensify multilateral economic cooperation, Nazarbayev said.