ASTANA/KAZAKHSTAN: China yesterday signed a wind-power cooperation program with Kazakhstan as Chinese President Hu Jintao paid a work visit to the Central Asian country.

China Guandong Nuclear Power Co (CGNPC) from China’s major economic engine Guangdong Province, signed the program with Kazakstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk Kazyna.

The program will be followed by a series of cooperative projects jointly launched by the two countries in the field of renewable energy.

China, driven by its rosy economic growth, is in dire need of the renewable energy to ensure a green development that no longer depends overwhelmingly on the heavily-pollution coal burning.

During the bilateral meeting, President Hu also proposed to his Kazakhstan counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev to enhance their cooperation in the renewable energy.

“We should accelerate the implementation of the first patch of cooperative projects (in the field), and ensure as soon as possible the field will grow into a large scale and become profitable,” Hu said.

Hu also called on Kazakhstan to enhance their cooperation in the energy field as well as the mineral sector. But he did not elaborate on the topic.