Xi's visit to Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus & attending WWII celebration in Moscow

The guard of honor of the three services of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) takes part in the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2015. (Xinhua/Jia Yuchen)

China's President Xi paid a state visit to Kazakhstan from May 5-8 at the invitation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi visited Russia from May 8-10 and attended the ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow.

In Kazakhstan, Xi and his Kazakh counterpart, Nursultan Nazarbayev, agreed to align the two countries' development strategies in pursuit of common prosperity.

"We are ready to align the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative with Kazakhstan's new economic policy of the Bright Road, so as to achieve common development and prosperity on the basis of equality and reciprocity," Xi said.

During Xi's visit to Russia, Xi and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, vowed to defend the history of World War II and to safeguard world peace and international justice. The two leaders also agreed to promote the alignment of China’s proposed Silk Road Economic Belt initiative and Russia's aspiration under the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) framework.

In Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko spoke highly of the important role of the Belt vision, saying his country is ready to actively participate in the process.

The two countries have agreed to build an industrial park as a model project in the construction of the Belt initiative, which connects Asia with Europe.