"I believe your visit will inject vitality into the growth of our bilateral ties, and boost our strategic partnership to a new level," said Chinese President Hu Jintao when meeting with Nazarbayev on February 22. The two heads of state witnessed the signing of a series of agreements on cross-border water resource protection, high-speed railway construction, and joint oil and gas projects.

Under the agreements, China and Kazakhstan will jointly build a 1,050-km high-speed railway connecting the central Asian nation's cities of Astana and Almaty. Trains will run at a maximum speed of 350 km per hour, serving 5 million passengers annually. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2015.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and top legislator Wu Bangguo also met with Nazarbayev. During meetings with Chinese leaders, Nazarbayev vowed to work closely with China to facilitate cooperation in trade, energy and transportation.

China Evacuates Citizens From Libya

China sent chartered planes as well as ocean liners to bring back Chinese citizens from Libya, which has recently been the scene of protests and unrest.

"The Chinese Government attaches great importance to the situation and has instructed the Chinese Embassy in Libya to take every necessary measure to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and organizations in Libya," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu on February 22.

A number of Chinese companies have been looted since unrest erupted in the North African country on February 16. For instance, a group of armed gangsters attacked a construction site run by the Huafeng Construction Co. Ltd. from China's Zhejiang Province. Nearly 1,000 Chinese workers fled from their living quarters.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry had urged Libyan authorities to conduct an immediate probe into the attacks, punish the perpetrators and take substantial measures to protect Chinese nationals, Ma said.