Beijing: An extraordinary and historic summit on the global scene has been held in China. In which China and 5 Central Asian countries have given a message of full solidarity, sustainable development and peace to the unstable world along with increasing coordination for a common and secure future.
Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over the China-Central Asia Summit, the first official meeting between China and the heads of Central Asian countries, which was held on May 18 and 19 in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. In the meeting, the leaders made strong proposals for further strengthening of relations between China and Central Asia.
The summit is seen as a milestone in the rapid development of relations, economic cooperation and people-to-people contacts between China and Central Asian countries.
Mutual political alliance:
In 2013, Xi Jinping went to Central Asia for the first time as the head of China, where he visited Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
During his visit, Xi said that China and Central Asian countries are friendly neighbors connected by common mountains and rivers. China highly values its friendship and cooperation with these countries and places them on the priority list of its foreign policy.
China’s relations with Central Asian countries were promoted during the visits. The following year, Xi paid an official visit to Tajikistan, during which a consensus was reached to expand and strengthen bilateral ties.
In the past decade, Xi visited Central Asia 7 times and hosted a number of Central Asian leaders in China. Xi held extensive discussions and consultations with people from various fields in the region on important issues.
There are also many memorable moments in these unprecedented connections, with Xi wearing traditional Tajik clothing, quoting Kyrgyz proverbs, touring ancient cities in Uzbekistan and a small town in Turkmenistan, while donating blood in China. Told the story of the Kazakh student. Above all, Sadrashi had a busy time with the leaders of 5 Central Asian countries.
Friendship and mutual political trust between China and Central Asia have been continuously enhanced under the leadership of the Chinese Head of State’s diplomacy.
China and Central Asian countries have always supported each other in matters related to sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and continue to cooperate in establishing development paths and administrative models.
They started cooperating with each other to fight terrorism, separatism and extremism, transnational organized crime and drug trafficking. He has also strongly opposed attempts to incite external intervention or a “color revolution”.
In January 2022, in a virtual summit marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Central Asian countries, Xi said, “Over the past three decades, China and the five Central Asian countries have had successful and fruitful cooperation.” The secret lies in mutual respect, good friendship as neighbours, unwavering solidarity in difficult times and our steadfast commitment to common interests.”
Everyone’s Collaboration for a better future
On September 7, 2013, during a speech at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, Xi proposed the establishment of the “Economic Belt and Silk Road” project for the first time.
Over the past decade, Central Asian countries have emerged as founders or initiators of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and have built the region as an example of high-quality BRI development. From freight trains fully loaded with cargo to achieving production targets and natural gas pipelines, the fruits of joint development are evident as a result of strong cooperation.
Earlier this month, a freight train carrying more than 260 new energy vehicles arrived in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. To mark BRI’s 10th anniversary, the train’s 12-day journey started from Xi’an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road.
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Currently, 17 railway routes connect Xi’an with Central Asian countries and many other Asian and European destinations, with more than 1,100 trains running during the first quarter of the year. The trains are a manifestation of the strong trade between China and Central Asian countries. In 2022, trade volume reached an all-time high of US$70.2 billion, a 100-fold increase since diplomatic relations were established nearly 3 decades ago.
From the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline and the Kamchak Railway Tunnel in Uzbekistan to the Zhantas Wind Power Station in Kazakhstan and the North-South Highway in Kyrgyzstan, a number of joint ventures have led to industrial development and economic improvement.
Officials and experts are hopeful that the summit will open a new and bright chapter in China-Central Asia cooperation.
Ministry of Commerce Spokesperson Xu Joyting said that China has taken the summit as an opportunity and will work together with the 5 Central Asian countries to take economic and trade cooperation to a new level in the future.
According to Su Chang, a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China-Central Asia economic cooperation will be promoted to more areas, especially e-commerce, digital economy and Various sectors including new types of business are involved.
Interconnections in different fields
So far, 124 provinces, regions and cities of China and 5 Central Asian countries have been declared twinned. Chinese universities are admitting more and more students from Central Asia to promote stronger connections, mutual understanding and belonging at the public level.
Ismail Daurov from Kazakhstan spent 9 years in Xi’an to study. Calling Shaanxi his second hometown, he also volunteered with locals during the Covid-19 pandemic in relief efforts.
“I’m definitely a foreigner, but I don’t consider myself a stranger in China,” said Ismail, who has relationships with many people in China. Chinese President Xi also presented his words as an excellent example of friendship between the people of China and the people of Central Asian countries.
Like Ismail, a large number of Central Asian students choose China as their preferred study abroad destination. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of Central Asian students studying in China grew by more than 12 percent annually between 2010 and 2018. As the world recovers from the effects of the pandemic, the number of Chinese and Central Asian students studying in each other’s institutions is expected to set a new record.
Responding to a letter from Central Asian students studying at the China University of Petroleum, President Xi encouraged the students by saying that they are ambassadors of friendship, a bridge to further enhance and improve relations. As well as paying, do your best to bring the people of China-Central Asia closer together and make a joint radiant permanent.
With the concrete results of the China-Central Asia Summit, it is also expected that there will be new developments in further strengthening the relations between China and Central Asian countries.
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