Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed Saturday that China and Central Asia join hands to build a Silk Road economic belt to boost cooperation. On the topic of trade, Xi said all parties should explore ways to facilitate trade and investment, and make proper arrangements. The Chinese president also urged the regional members to promote local-currency settlement so as to improve their immunity to financial risks and their global competitiveness.

China and Kazakhstan have agreed to strengthen their bilateral relations. Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev charted a future course of cooperation and reached extensive consensus to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership.

During the two-day visit, 22 agreements - mostly in the energy sector but also in agriculture, transport, and construction - are being signed as China continues flexing its economic muscle in Kazakhstan. China is already the country's largest trade partner and Beijing and Astana are seeking to increase bilateral trade to $40 billion by 2015, up from $24 billion last year.