The upcoming China-Central Asia Summit, to be chaired by President Xi
Jinping, will further elevate ties between China and the five Central Asian
countries, bring economic and trade cooperation to a higher level and deliver
more tangible benefits to the people, officials and analysts said.
Xi will chair the summit on May 18 and 19 in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced on Monday.
The summit will bring together President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan,
President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan,
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan, and President Shavkat
Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, she said.
The gathering, one of the major diplomatic events to be hosted by China this
year, will be a significant milestone in the history of ties between the two
sides, Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a news briefing on
Monday.
Xi will deliver an important speech at the summit, and the six heads of state
will exchange views on the development of the China-Central Asia mechanism,
cooperation in various sectors and major international and regional issues of
common concern, he said.
Key political documents will also be signed during the summit, he said. "It
is our belief that under the joint efforts from various sides, the summit will
draw up a new blueprint for China-Central Asia relations and usher in a new era
for cooperation."
Total trade volume between China and the five Central Asian countries reached
a record $70 billion last year, according to the National Development and Reform
Commission.
Li Yongquan, head of the China Society for Russian, Eastern European and
Central Asian Studies, said China has always respected the five Central Asian
countries' sovereignty, independence and their right to choose development paths
suited to their own national conditions.
"China has always seen Central Asia as a priority in its neighborhood
diplomacy, while the stability and development of the region is directly related
to China's own development," Li said.
Last year, Xi chaired a virtual summit in Beijing to commemorate the 30th
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the
Central Asian countries, during which he announced a plan to provide grant
assistance of $500 million to the countries to support livelihood programs.
Xi also made Kazakhstan the destination of his first foreign trip since the
outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, paying a state visit to the nation in
September.
Going forward, the building of an even closer community with a shared future
between China and Central Asia will give fresh impetus to bilateral ties and
contribute to the region's security, stability and development, said Li from the
China Society for Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies.
Zhao Huirong, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences'
Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, said that the
elevation of the multilateral mechanism between China and the five countries
indicated a new level of emphasis placed on the relationship.
"A summit between heads of state will help build a strong pillar for the
building of a community with a shared future between the two sides and lead the
way for the future growth of ties," she said.
Central Asia is the place where Xi proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt, the
forerunner of the Belt and Road Initiative. The region has also played pivotal
roles in the BRI going global, Zhao added.
"The five nations are active participants and beneficiaries from the BRI, and
we have reasons to believe that the summit will help scale up pragmatic
cooperation and enable the region to continue leading the way for BRI
cooperation," she said.
China and the five countries agreed during a foreign ministers' meeting last
year to establish the China-Central Asia Summit mechanism, with the six
countries to hold biennial summits starting this year.