Chinese President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan will focus on enhancing regional security, a senior official says.

Kazakhstan is instrumental in fighting "separatism, extremism and terrorism," the People's Daily Online quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Guangya on December 11. "China will enhance cooperation with the Central Asian states and make further contributions to peace and development in the region. We are neighbors and share reciprocal advantages, which fuel our cooperation in such areas as trade, economy, investment, communication, energy, society and culture."

President Hu will travel to Kazakhstan on December 12. Two days later, he is scheduled to attend the inauguration of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline in the company of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Uzbek President Islam Karimov.