China and Kazakhstan on Friday issued a joint communiqué pledging to support economic and trade development in their border areas, and to boost their strategic partnership, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The document was issued during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's three-day official visit to the Kazakh capital, Astana, where he attended the 7th prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries, the report said.
It said Kazakhstan and China agreed to increase cooperation in the areas of customs, ports and transportation.
The report also said Kazakhstan reaffirmed its support for the Chinese government on the issues of Taiwan, Tibet and the crackdown on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism.
The two sides will also increase cooperation to fight smuggling, drug trafficking, cross-border crimes and organized illegal immigration, the news agency said.