China pledges financial support to Shanghai group countries

ASTANA, December 15. /TASS/. Beijing is ready to provide financial aid to the fellow member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which also groups Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, to overcome the current negative economic tendencies, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday. “In an effort to counteract the economic recession, the Chinese side is ready to offer financial aid,” Keqiang told the summit of heads of governments in Astana, Kazakhstan. China plans to provide aid to Kazakhstan and also other member-states or partners of the group to “contribute to success in the effort to fight the economic downturn and modernize our production facilities.” This cooperation will allow increasing the competitiveness of production on the international market. “Besides, we are ready to create more favorable conditions for mutual trade and investments to respond to challenges in current conditions,” the Chinese premier said. “This will allow us to strengthen unity among the organization’s member-states and more efficiently struggle against difficult situations in the economic sphere in the world in general,” he stressed. Beijing also supports Kazakhstan’s initiative on encouraging mutual calculations in national currencies, Keqiang said. “The Chinese side also proposes to step up cooperation in the sphere of agriculture with the SCO member-states, and to consider an exchange of information in this sphere,” he said. China is ready to allocate $50 million to promote modern technologies in the agricultural sector and training staff. Beijing also plans to boost cooperation in the healthcare sphere and create a joint tool of fighting dangerous diseases. Read more