The communique also praised the important role of the SCO in maintaining regional security and stability and promoting the development and prosperity of its member states, adding that further efforts should be made to further tap its potential and ensure its steady development.

Regarding the global financial crisis, the two leaders lauded the timely and effective measures taken separately and jointly by the two governments to curb the effects, and agreed to optimize the structure of bilateral trade, improve investment environment and broaden the scope of cooperation to raise bilateral trade to its pre-crisis level or higher.

The two neighboring countries also expressed satisfaction with the successful implementation of large-scale cooperation projects in energy, minerals, power and railway and pledged effective measures to protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of each other's nationals and corporations and, in doing so, to facilitate their pragmatic all-round cooperation and the implementation of major bilateral cooperation projects.

On cooperation in non-resource sectors, the two sides reaffirmed they would abide by a 2007 agreement to promote such efforts, and agreed to further enhance bilateral cooperation in machinery manufacturing, transport infrastructure, power plant construction, pharmaceutical industries as well as other fields. In order to help carry out these projects, the two countries also pledged to promote credit cooperation.

As to the energy sector, the two sides agreed to ensure the construction as well as the long-term and stable operation of major cooperation projects, including the China-Kazakhstan gas and oil pipelines.

At the same time, the two countries vowed to expand cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit in nuclear power and renewable energies such as solar and wind power.

The two sides also agreed to fully explore the potential of cooperation in cross-border transportation via rail, road and air, and Kazakhstan invited Chinese companies to become involved in the construction of the bilateral and international transit corridors.

The two nations spoke highly of the completion and operation of the Horgos International Border Cooperation Center and agreed to facilitate corporate cooperation between the two sides in the facility.

The document also showed that China and Kazakhstan would actively coordinate with each other on the protection of utilization of border rivers and roll out more cooperation in a variety of other fields, including agriculture, tourism, education, health and culture.

China-Kazakhstan ties have witnessed rapid and healthy progress since the two countries established diplomatic relations 18 years ago. In 2005, the two countries established a strategic partnership, which ushered in a new stage of development in bilateral ties.

The Chinese president's latest visit to Kazakhstan came six months after he joined Nazarbayev in a ceremony in Astana marking the completion of the Kazakhstan-China natural gas pipeline project.

Hu flew to Astana on Friday from the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent, where he paid a state visit to Uzbekistan and attended a SCO summit.