Adding New Momentum to China-Kazakhstan Friendship and High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation

Remarks by Fang Jiangshan

Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor of People's Daily

At the promotional event for the People's Daily Digital Bulletin Board in Almaty

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, May 28, 2025

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Good morning!

Kazakhstan is where Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt, an essential component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It has since become a fertile ground where Belt and Road cooperation has borne rich fruit. With warm memories of our shared history and high hopes for the future, I arrived in Kazakhstan early this morning. I'm honored to be here in Almaty—"Homeland of Apples" and a shining example of the deep bond between our peoples—and to be at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, an institution with over 90 years of proud tradition. It is with great excitement that I attend this promotional event for the People's Daily Digital Bulletin Board, themed "Resonate on Screen, Advance Hand in Hand."

On behalf of Mr. Yu Shaoliang, President of People's Daily, and Mr. Chen Jianwen, Editor-in-Chief of People's Daily, I would like to extend a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to all the distinguished guests and friends present today.

Dear Friends,

"Friendships are not chosen by chance, but according to the passions that dominate us." Two sets of data about People's Daily speak volumes about the strong and growing ties between our two countries. First, more than 1,800 articles in People's Daily have mentioned both "Belt and Road" and "Kazakhstan." Second, in just over two years during which I was in charge of international reporting at People's Daily, more than 600 stories featured Kazakhstan—including 11 articles recounting the touching story of Chinese composer Xian Xinghai and Kazakh musician Bakhytzhan Baikadamov, who met by chance in Almaty, formed a profound friendship, and supported each other in times of hardship.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has shared this story on multiple international occasions. Today, both Xian Xinghai Boulevard and Baikadamov Boulevard in Almaty, as well as a road dedicated to the friendship between the two composers in Panyu, Guangzhou, China—Xian's ancestral home—stand as lasting tributes to this cross-border friendship. Encouraged by the two heads of state of China and Kazakhstan, Chinese and Kazakh artists worked together to produce the film The Composer to convey a shared wish to make this friendship everlasting. This story has long become a cherished and shared memory of the Chinese and Kazakh peoples and reminds us of the responsibility we share to safeguard and carry forward this deep bond.

China and Kazakhstan, connected by mountains and rivers, are good neighbors, good friends and good partners with a shared future. The friendship between our peoples dates back thousands of years, and together we have written a beautiful chapter of cultural exchange and mutual learning along the ancient Silk Road. In September 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt here in Kazakhstan—a proposal warmly welcomed across Kazakh society. From day one, Kazakhstan has been a staunch supporter and active participant in this initiative, ushering in a new chapter in bilateral relations.

Over the past decade, the BRI has evolved from laying groundwork and setting up the frameworks to delivering tangible results and achieving sustainable progress. It has become a global platform featuring openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation, and is now widely regarded as a public good for the international community. Centuries ago, the heartland of the Eurasian continent was left behind by the rise of maritime trade during the Age of Discovery. Today, riding the momentum of the BRI, this region is once again rising to prominence as a globally significant transport hub—gaining new dividends of development and opportunities for cooperation from growing flows of goods and capital.

Through Belt and Road cooperation, China and Kazakhstan have achieved fruitful results across multiple fields. Our millennia-old Silk Road friendship continues to thrive, infused with new vitality through practical, mutually beneficial cooperation. Looking ahead, our two countries are poised for a bright future marked by lasting friendship, win-win cooperation and common prosperity.

Dear friends,

Over the past more than three decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Kazakhstan, our bilateral relations have made great strides, evolving from good-neighborly friendship to a strategic partnership, and then to a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. This unique positioning has set a model for state-to-state relations featuring mutual respect, good-neighborly friendship, solidarity in trying times, and win-win cooperation. It has not only provided strong support for the development and revitalization of both countries, but also injected robust impetus into regional peace and stability, delivering tangible benefits to our peoples.

Today, China is working together with friendly neighbors to build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home. We have always viewed China-Kazakhstan relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, regarding Kazakhstan as a priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy and a key partner in Central Asia. As Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev once said, "Friendship between China and Kazakhstan is a shared treasure more precious than gold." Guided by head-of-state diplomacy, and by leveraging the potential of our exchanges at various levels and cooperation across various areas, we aim to further strengthen our permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. Together, we will build a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future defined by lasting friendship, a high degree of mutual trust and sharing weal and woe. To this end, we must deepen people-to-people exchanges, broaden cultural dialogue, enhance cultural cooperation, innovate mechanisms for exchange, and foster mutual understanding and people-to-people bond—thus laying a solid social foundation for all-round cooperation between our two countries. In this regard, the media has both an unshirkable responsibility and vast potential.

As China's most influential mainstream media outlet, People's Daily boasts a history of 77 years, amplifying the voice of the era and facilitating civilizational dialogue. From a traditional print newspaper, it has evolved into a new-generation mainstream media outlet powered by cutting-edge digital technology. Today, People's Daily operates across more than 10 platforms—including print, magazines, websites, apps, social media, and digital screens—with over 470 online channels and a total media reach exceeding 1.5 billion users. Among them, the People's Daily Digital Bulletin Board, an innovation first pioneered by People's Daily, has been developed and deployed over the past 15 years. It is now widely launched in various public spaces across China, reaching an average of 142 million views per day. Over the past two years alone, People's Daily has launched 23 People's Daily Digital Bulletin Boards in 12 cities across 7 countries, opening new "windows of information," "windows of thought," "windows of culture," and "windows of communication" to the world. For many people abroad, these People's Daily Digital Bulletin Boards have become portals through which they discover a diverse world and gain a more comprehensive and authentic understanding of China.

Today, People's Daily is honored to invite both old and new friends at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University to witness the official launch of the People's Daily Digital Bulletin Boards at Northwestern Polytechnical University Kazakhstan Branch Campus, the Confucius Institute at Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages, and ICBC Almaty.

This marks the largest overseas promotional event for People's Daily Digital Bulletin Boards to date. With these additions, a total of nine People's Daily Digital Bulletin Boards have now been deployed in Astana and Almaty. Each one has been thoughtfully customized to suit its location, offering cultural and informational services in Chinese, Kazakh, and English through content that is scenario-specific, functional, and tailored.

With this initiative, China and Kazakhstan will take a new step forward in telling good stories and amplifying voices of friendship through the "screen-media" platform.

You will see that the newest People's Daily Digital Bulletin Boards include a dedicated content section that showcase an animated series of "Stories Shared by Xi Jinping". Each episode is based on a story personally shared by the president, conveying profound meaning through engaging narratives. Among them are stories related to Kazakhstan—such as those of Xian Xinghai and "Panda Man" Ruslan.

Previously, many cultural exchange-themed animations were translated into English and warmly received in countries like Thailand and Indonesia, where they were aired on People's Daily Digital Bulletin Boards. Some local partners even offered to co-produce Thai and Indonesian versions of the series. Now, People's Daily Digital Communication Company and the Confucius Institute at Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages have reached a cooperation agreement to jointly produce the Kazakh version of these animations—an initiative that is both promising and worthy of anticipation.

This gives us even greater confidence in the potential of this open and shared "screen-media" platform. We look forward to seeing the peoples of China and Kazakhstan make full use of it to spread the voice of friendship and cooperation, and to jointly create a magnificent digital Silk Road that brings hearts and minds closer together.

Dear friends,

As a Chinese saying goes, "virtue is not left to stand alone, and he who practices it will have neighbors." Both China and Kazakhstan are at critical stages of national development and revitalization, walking side by side on the path to modernization. No matter how the international landscape may change, China's commitment to our traditional friendship remains unwavering. Our resolve to advance all-round cooperation remains firm. Our support for each other on issues concerning our core interests remains steadfast. And our confidence in achieving our respective national development goals remains strong. We are full of confidence in the continued inheritance and development of our time-honored friendship and all-round cooperation, and in the vision of building a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future defined by lasting friendship, a high degree of mutual trust and sharing weal and woe.

Let us remain true to our original aspiration, support each other through thick and thin, and carry forward the fine tradition of mutual support. Let us deepen political mutual trust, align our development strategies, firmly safeguard each other's core interests, and serve as each other's reliable and trustworthy partners. Together, let us pass down the good-neighborly friendship from generation to generation, and join hands to build a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future that is richer in substance and vitality. Let us work together to amplify the theme of a healthy, stable, and vibrant China-Kazakhstan friendship, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and steadily advance our permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. In doing so, we will contribute constructively and creatively to the development and revitalization of both countries, and to peace, development, and stability in the region and beyond.

I wish this promotional event great success!

May you all enjoy good health, success in your endeavors, and happiness in all aspects of life. Thank you!