Xi's upcoming visit to promote China-Kazakhstan relationship: ambassador

China

Xi's upcoming visit to promote China-Kazakhstan relationship: ambassador

2024-07-01 20:02 Last Updated At：07-02 14:27

Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Kazakhstan will promote bilateral relationship towards new development, said Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).

From July 2 to 6, Xi will attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States in Astana, and pay state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan at the invitation of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.

According to Zhang, Xi's upcoming visit, which will be his second to the country in less than two years, marks the significance that China places on its relationship with Kazakhstan.

"The visit will be Chinese President Xi Jinping's second visit to Kazakhstan in less than two years, following his previous visit in September 2022. Kazakhstan will become the only country visited twice by Xi since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of these is a demonstration of the high-level and special China-Kazakhstan relationship. During the visit, the two heads of state will hold in-depth discussions on the China-Kazakhstan relationship, cooperation in various fields, and international and regional issues of mutual concern, which will lead the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries towards new development," said Zhang.

President Xi will also attend the SCO summit in Astana, where he will compare notes with leaders of other member states on the current international and regional situations, as well as the development of the SCO. Together, they will make new arrangements and plans for the next stage of development of the SCO, and join hands to promote the building of an even closer SCO community with a shared future, said Zhang.

"President Xi's visit will serve an opportunity to uphold traditional friendship, strengthen good-neighborly friendship, enhance political mutual trust, make plans for mutually beneficial cooperation, boost confidence in cooperation, and pave way for a brighter future. It will also be a visit for friendship, peace, cooperation, and mutual benefit. It will definitely inject strong impetus into the development of China-Kazakhstan relations as well as the prosperity and stability of the region, while infusing the current turbulent world with greater certainty and more positive energy," he said.

Torrential rains, flash floods continue to batter southern China

2024-07-03 17:29 Last Updated At：17:47

Persistent and heavy rains have lashed parts of southern China, triggering mudslides and flash floods in provinces such as Jiangsu, Hubei, amd Anhui, and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Water levels in sections of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River - China's longest river – may continue to rise, since the areas entered the annual rainy season, known as "plum rain season," on June 18, according to the Ministry of Water Resources Tuesday.

The water level of middle and lower reaches of the river as well as the Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake basins is expected to gradually fall after Friday, according to the alert.

The Department of Water Resources of Hubei Province also reported that the recent precipitation in central China's Hubei Province has been 27 percent higher than the same period in history.

"Since June, a wide rain belt has covered most areas of Hubei Province. Three rounds of heavy rainfall have overlapped, extending from east to west, sweeping 13 cities and prefectures, including Huangshi, Huanggang, Xianning, Wuhan, and Jingzhou, as well as 80 counties. Currently, the water levels of more than 800 reservoirs in these areas exceeded the flood limit but have not reached a warning level. The implemented flood control measures, such as the management of flood gates and reservoirs in the areas that are heavily affected by rainfall, are successfully mitigating the peak flow and managing flood situations. Now, the overall flood control situation is relatively stable and manageable," said Luo Wei, a researcher at the flood and drought disaster prevention division under the Department of Water Resources of Hubei Province.

In addition, Anhui Provincial Emergency Management Department on Tuesday also released news that the Yangtze River has seen water levels in its Anhui section exceed their warning marks, and levels continue to rise. Torrential rains have also pushed waters above their guaranteed or alert levels in another 20 rivers and six lakes in the province.

The rainstorms prompted the three cities of Ma'anshan, Wuhu and Tongling in Anhui to raise their emergency response to flooding to Level III, the third-highest level.

Meanwhile, affected by the strong rainfall, the Xijiang River, in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a major tributary of the Pearl River, along with its tributaries, Liujiang River and Guijiang River, are experiencing a significant increase in water levels, the local water conservancy department reported.

In the early morning of Wednesday, the Xijiang River flooded for the fourth time this year.