Chinese President Hu Jintao and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on June 6 vowed to enhance the strategic partnership between the two nations during talks for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Beijing. Currently there are more than 1,000 joint enterprises with Chinese investments in Kazakhstan. The countries share a 1,520-kilometer (944-mile) border, and the increasing development in the area has led to heightened security measures to better control the flow of goods and people across the border. The two main crossings into China are in Almaty province: the Dostyk/Druzhba-Alashankou border crossing south of Lake Alakol is the main route for passenger rail and road travel. The Khorgos-Khorgas crossing is the most important road link between Kazakhstan and China and is typically busy with ethnic Uighur and Kazakh traders. Khorgas also requires higher security levels than other border cities because it is an important hub for China's natural gas pipelines; here, the Central Asia-China and West-East pipelines intersect. A new railroad service also runs from Khorgos, Kazakhstan, to Jinghe, China. There are five other border crossings, but some are not operational and others are seldom used. Border regions typically are more difficult for a state government to control than areas closer to a country's core, and people often do not recognize borders in areas that historically have not been strictly demarcated. State-imposed limitations on regions that have traditionally been open can cause tensions between the locals and their governments. Efforts to increase security, such as placing new border security posts in the region, may create more unease between the local populations and security forces.
