Rajesh Singh asked: Has Kazakhstan been any type of relationship with China before Soviet disintegration?

Meena Singh Roy replies: Prior to 1990 relations between two countries were impeded by the generally bad state of Sino-Soviet relations. None of the republics could engage with any foreign country unless it was tacitly approved by Moscow. According to the oral epics of Central Asian people, particularly in case of Kazakh and Kyrgyz, traditionally the Middle Kingdom is presented as the historical enemy of the people of the Steppe and an opponent of Islam's eastward expansion. The diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and China started only after Kazakhstan's independence.