A Chinese trade official has called for more economic and trade cooperation between China and Kazakhstan.

Chen Zhou, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), made the remarks at a meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee in Beijing on June 8.

Chen said Kazakhstan was an important partner for China in Eurasia and hoped the two governments would coordinate policies and development strategies, so that bilateral economic and trade cooperation could be enhanced.

"Chinese and Kazakhstan entrepreneurs and business people should uphold the 'Shanghai Spirit' to strengthen mutual benefit, trust and development between members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)," Chen said. "They should expand cooperation in economy, technologies and industrial capacity, and explore new technologies, models and businesses in green energy, food and agriculture, as well as cross-border logistics."

Chen also encouraged entrepreneurs and business people from both countries to "contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity" and seek cooperation beyond the SCO.

Akhmetzhan Yessimov, Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhstan’s Samruk-Kazyna Joint Stock Company, one of the hosts of the committee meeting, conveyed his optimism about the outlook of China-Kazakh economic ties.

"We are interested in further dynamic development of bilateral economic relations. Yesterday's negotiations between the leaders of the two countries and reached agreements once again confirm this and give a new excellent opportunity for business development of our countries. Kazakhstan is a country with huge investment potentials, and therefore systemic efforts are carried out to improve the business environment and the flow of direct investment. We are interested in further more dynamic development of bilateral economic relations. At today's fifth meeting of the Business Council, we plan to sign more than 40 commercial agreements worth USD 13 billion," added Yessimov.

Around 300 delegates from the chambers of commerce and industry, enterprises and think tanks from both countries attended the meeting. The major topics for discussion include the new business opportunities in bilateral trade, transportation, logistics, energy and SMEs development.

Bilateral trade between China and Kazakhstan surged 37.4 percent to 18 billion U.S. dollars in 2017.

(Text partly from Xinhua, Samruk-Kazyna Joint Stock Company)