An article titled "Why Kazakhstan is eager to return to China"
published in an online newspaper www.sohu.com. The article mentioned that
'Kazakhstan is located on territories that historically belong to China.'
Both countries share 1,765 kilometre long border. Approximately 1.5 million
ethnic Kazakh live in China's Xinjiang region. Both countries frequently
exchange high level official visits and are co-founders of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
China and Kazakhstan have promoted a rapid expansion of trade and
partnership over, especially in Kazakhstan's oil, natural gas, minerals and
other major energy resources. China has an outsized role in Kazakhstan's
energy sector and is looking to Kazakhstan as a key hub for its "Belt and
Road" routes.
Kazakh Government, despite the fact under huge domestic pressure to be
more vocal for the ethnic Kazakhs in China, never issued any statement on
the issue.
The Kazakhstan foreign Ministry called in Chinese Ambassador Mr. Zhang
Xiao on 14 April to register protest against such blatant misinformation.