China and Kazakhstan Strengthen Partnership

China?s President Hu Jintao and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev have agreed to form a strategic energy partnership by linking their two nations with oil and gas pipeline from Atasu of Kazakhstan to Alashankou, of China's Xinjiang region.

The pipeline which will launch delivering oil by Dec. 16, forms the second phase of a $700 million oil transportation project.
The pipeline will have an initial capacity of 10 million tonnes/year of crude oil, increasing to 20 million tons/year by 2008.