Chinese President Hu Jintao has unveiled the Kazakh section of a 7,000km (4,300 miles) natural gas pipeline joining Central Asia to China.
Mr Hu was joined by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev during the inauguration in Astana on Saturday.
The pipeline is part of China’s attempts to secure more energy sources worldwide.
On Monday, Mr Hu is due to head to a commissioning ceremony in Turkmenistan where the pipeline actually begins.
He is also expected to be joined there by President Islam Karimov, the leader of Uzbekistan – the fourth country involved in the project.
