President Xi Jinping will embark on a four-day trip to Kazakhstan next Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang announced on Friday.

At the invitation of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Xi will pay a state visit to the country, which borders western China. He will attend the 17th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the opening ceremony of Astana Expo 2017 between Wednesday and Saturday, Lu said.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kazakhstan. The two presidents had a meeting in Beijing last month on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.