BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Xi Jinping attended a welcome ceremony held by his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana on Saturday.

Xi said the two countries are important neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners. He added that he looks forward to continuing to exchange views with his counterpart on developing and expanding the partnership between the two countries.

In a meeting with Nazarbayev after the ceremony, the two sides agreed for China to hold shares in the Kashagan offshore oil project. A series of contracts worth about 30 billion US dollars were signed, including deals in the oil and gas sector.

(Source: CNTV.cn)