On October 31, 2008, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met in Astana with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

During the meeting, Wen described Kazakhstan as a friendly neighbor and important cooperative partner of China. He said President Nazarbayev served as the first torchbearer for the Olympic torch relay in Alma-Ata in April, the first leg of the torch's global journey, which fully represents the profound friendship between the two countries and their peoples and deeply impressed the Chinese people. He said China values relations with Kazakhstan and will work to strengthen the good-neighborly friendship and political mutual trust between the two nations and implement their cooperation agreements in a bid to push forward the strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan.

Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan and China, as friendly neighbors, good friends and partners, enjoy close ties and a firm foundation of cooperation and there is no barrier between the two countries. The Kazakh president reiterated his country's adherence to a policy of good-neighborliness toward China and pledged to promote the all-round cooperation with China.

Both sides also exchanged in-depth views on the current international financial crisis. Wen said China is closely following the impact of the crisis worldwide, especially on developing nations, adding that confidence, responsibility and cooperation are vital to overcoming the crisis. With years of development, the SCO has enjoyed a firm basis in many areas. The vast land, rich resources and human resources, and technological advantages of member countries have provided favorable conditions for them to jointly tackle the financial crisis, Wen said. China is ready to work with other SCO members in offering mutual support and overcoming the current difficulties, he said. He noted that China supports efforts of enterprises from both sides to cooperate in a more flexible way and make more effective use of capital. He expressed belief that after the test of the crisis, China-Kazakhstan friendship will be more profound.

Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan values and appreciates China's position and role in the face of the financial crisis. The steady and rapid development of the Chinese economy is critical to the region and the whole world at large, he said, adding that Kazakhstan will continue to coordinate with China.