With unprecedented improvement in political mutual trust and rapid development in trade and economic relations, Kazakhstan and China have opened a grand prospect of mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), said a Kazakh analyst in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Trade volume between Kazakhstan and China hit a record high of 17.55 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, arriving significantly earlier at the goal set by the state leaders of the two countries to raise the figure to over 15 billion dollars by 2015, said Erlan Madiyev, a China expert at the World Economy and Politics Institute, a Kazakh think tank affiliated to the First President's Fund.

Noting that China is one of Kazakhstan's largest investment sources, with its direct investment exceeding 9 billion dollars in total, Madiyev said that close trade and economic relations have paved the way for advancing exchange and cooperation in the political arena.

Meanwhile, China has expressed full understanding of and showed steadfast support for Kazakhstan's new concern in its socio-economic development, namely the exploration in non-resource fields, said Madiyev.

He recalled that Chinese President Hu Jintao laid particular emphasis on deepening cooperation in such fields in the five proposals he offered during his last Kazakhstan trip in December to further enhance China-Kazakhstan ties.

Toward this end, the two countries have each inaugurated a special fund responsible for boosting comprehensive cooperation in non-resource areas, he added.

While pushing forward the new cause, Madiyev said, Kazakhstan and China have also witnessed steady progresses in cooperation in energy, transportation, agriculture and other traditional fields, with a host of large-scale cooperation projects either taking shape or already in good shape.

On the relationship between China and the SCO, Madiyev said that China played a leading role in maintaining the bloc's healthy and orderly development, and had fully exhibited its foreign policy of "bringing harmony, peace and prosperity to neighbors" on this multilateral stage.

China has proved with practice that it is ready to share the rich experiences and fruits of its economic development with other nations in the region, he continued.

President Hu Jintao announced at the SCO summit last year that China would offer 10 billion U.S. dollars of credit to help SCO members tackle the global financial crisis. Such a move explicitly demonstrates China's sincerity in promoting common development of the whole region, said the China expert.

Founded in 2001 in Shanghai and grouping China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the SCO covers an area of more than 30 million square km, or some 60 percent of the Eurasia landmass, and a population of about 1.5 billion, amounting to one quarter of the world total.

Meanwhile, the regional bloc boosts abundant natural resources, enormous market space and immense strength in economy, science and technology and culture, Madiyev added.

As an open organization, he said, the SCO also maintains close cooperation with the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the ASEAN, the Eurasian Economic Community and other international and regional organizations.

Noting that Kazakhstan holds the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe this year and will take over that of the Organization of the Islamic Conference next year, Madiyev said that these opportunities would greatly contribute to enhancing mutual trust, exchanging development experiences and promoting pragmatic cooperation between the SCO and the two groups.

The SCO's annual summit, said Madiyev, is a significant event that draws global attention. He explained that the planning by leaders of SCO members for the organization's direction of strategic development and priorities of regional cooperation was significant not only to the development of this region but also to that of the whole world.

This year's session is expected to start Thursday in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.

Hu will pay a state visit to Kazakhstan from June 11 to 12 at the invitation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

At the end of the interview, Madiyev said that the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and China, two big and neighboring countries on Eurasia, was of utmost significance and that the friendship between Nazarbayev and Hu, marked with high mutual trust, was one of pillars shoring up the steady development of bilateral relations.

"I have full confidence in the future of Kazakhstan-China relations," said Madiyev.