Chinese president meets Kazakh youth

"I am very happy to see you all here in Beijing," Xi told the 200 students at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing. The students came at the invitation of the Chinese president, who extended the invitation during his speech at Nazarbayev University in Astana in September last year, Xinhua reports. He told the students China is an ancient country with 5,000-year history. The Chinese civilization, colorful and with its own features, adopts advantages from other nations in its evolution and provides strong spiritual motivation for the development of the Chinese nation, he said. The Chinese people are striving for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the president added. As good neighbors, the Chinese and Kazakh people enjoy natural affinity, said Xi, noting that the ancient Silk Road connected the two nations 2,000 years ago. Calling his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev "a very close friend," Xi said they have maintained close communication and discussed how to promote bilateral ties and deepen people-to-people exchange. The relationship between the two countries is based on the affection between two countries' citizens, while the affection between the two peoples relies on the exchange between the youth, according to Xi.