China, Central Asia vow to build a closer community with a shared future at milestone Xi’an summit
It is no coincidence that Xi’an has been chosen to host the first inperson gathering among heads of state of China and five Central Asian countries since their diplomatic ties were established 31 years ago.
Over 2,100 years ago, Zhang Qian, a Han Dynasty envoy, made his journey to the West from Chang’an, now the northwestern Chinese city of Xi’an, opening the door to friendship and exchanges between China and Central Asia.
Delivering a keynote speech at the China-central Asia Summit held at the starting point of the ancient Silk Road on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping recalled the millennia-old friendship and hailed the relations as brimming with vigor and vitality in the new era.
In expounding on how to build a China-central Asia community with a shared future, Xi stressed the need for mutual support, common development, and upholding universal security and everlasting friendship.
The summit from Thursday to Friday was attended by Kazakh President Kassym-jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
During their meetings or talks with Xi, the leaders expressed confidence and determination to boost cooperation with China, voicing their support for the China-proposed initiatives on global development, security and civilization.
SETTING PACE FOR BRI COOPERATION
Central Asia is where the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) began, as in a speech delivered at Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University in September 2013, Xi for the first time proposed building the Silk Road Economic Belt. A month later, in Indonesia, he proposed the building of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
“Over the past decade, China and Central Asian countries have worked closely together to fully revive the Silk Road and actively deepen future-oriented cooperation, steering our relations into a new era,” Xi said in his speech.
He continued to hail the China-kyrgyzstan-uzbekistan highway, the China-tajikistan expressway, the China-kazakhstan crude oil pipeline and the China-central Asia Gas Pipeline as the present-day Silk Road, and the China-europe freight trains, freight trucks and flights the present-day camel caravans.
In addition to traditional areas of cooperation, China and Central Asia should also forge new drivers of growth in finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, green and lowcarbon development, medical service, health and digital innovation, said Xi.
China’s trade with the five countries reached $70 billion in 2022, up by over 100 times since diplomatic ties were established. As of the end of March, China’s direct investment stock in Central Asia stood at over $15 billion, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.