23 July 2014 | 18:05

Kazakh students meet Chinese President

Tengrinews.kz file photo

200 students and professors of Nazarbayev University have met with Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping on June 24, 2014 in Beijing, Tengrinews reports.

Xi Jinping welcomed Kazakh students and professors in the Great Hall of the People, a political hub of Beijing and the meeting place of the National People's Congress, the Chinese Parliament.

The Chinese leader highlighted in his speech that China and Kazakhstan were good neighbors and the people of the two countries had a natural feeling of closeness to each other. The two countries were linked throughout the 2000-year-long of history of the Silk Road, he said.

“President Nazarbayev and I are close friends and we have frequently communicated and discussed development of bilateral relations to strengthen cooperation and to deepen friendship between the two nations,” the Chinese President said.

The close ties between the countries rest in the affinity of the people of these countries, while the closeness between the people lies in the youth exchange, he said.

“I hope that this visit will enable you to discover the real China and will leave present memories of it. I believe that you will become the builders of the China-Kazakhstan friendship and cooperation in future,” he added.

The meeting ended with a group photo of students, proffesors and Xi Jinping.

Last year, during his state visit to Kazakhstan, Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Nazarbayev University and invited 200 students and professors of the Nazarbayev University to attend summer camps in China. He also proposed to create the Silk Road Economic Belt to boost cooperation between China and Central Asian countries. He suggested that China and Central Asian countries could work together for the prosperity and development of the region. He urged to promote people-to-people exchanges as a key facilitator of deep and strong cooperation between the countries.

During the two weeks spent in China, the Kazakh students and professors visited three major cities of the country: Shanghai, Beijing and Xian and saw the major industrial, cultural and educational centers of China.

For example, in Shanghai, the Kazakh delegates visited Volkswagen plant where they had an opportunity to observe the making of the China-German cars, and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), China’s major airspace manufacturer.

China’s major universities such as Tsinghua University, Shanghai International Studies University, Peking University, Xi'an International Studies University, Northwest University also welcomed the delegation of Kazakh students and professors. They shared the hope that the visit would lay a foundation for cooperation between the universities.

The cultural program of the trip included visiting of China’s famous sights such as the Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Oriental Pearl Tower, Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum with the Terracota warriors and horses and others places.

Entrance to the Forbidden City, the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. ©Assel Satubaldina

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures of worriers of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

As the saying goes "Go to Shanghai and you will find a 100-year-old China; go to Beijing and you will find a 1000-year-old China; go to Xian and then you will find a 3000-year-old China" students had a chance to discover a true China with its bright culture, centuries-old history and traditions, and make a step towards strengthening and expending of the bilateral ties between Kazakhstan and China.

By Assel Satubaldina

youth Asia Pacific Central Asia China cooperation exchange Kazakh Kazakhstan Nazarbayev University news student university Xi Jinping Asia