Summit to promote region's influence

The China-Central Asia Summit will be held in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, next month as China and Central Asian countries are determined to build a closer community with a shared future, and contribute to regional security, peace and sustainable development.

The decision was announced on Thursday after State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang hosted the fourth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Xi'an. It was attended by the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

During the meeting, the foreign ministers made political preparations for the upcoming summit and reached broad consensus on issues such as promoting high-quality Belt and Road construction, expanding security cooperation and upholding the international order.

In a news communique issued after the meeting, all parties noted that interconnectivity is a priority of China-Central Asia cooperation and agreed to build a multidimensional and comprehensive network featuring the integration of roads, railways, airlines and ports. They also agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, agriculture, new energy and e-commerce.

Qin said that China-Central Asia cooperation has made a series of historic and ground-breaking achievements over the past decade under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and the heads of state from the five Central Asian countries.

"The upcoming summit is an important step for the future of the six countries and their peoples. We will work together to host a grand event that shows the world the high level of China-Central Asia cooperation and brings our ties to a new level," he said.

Qin underlined the importance for China and the Central Asian countries to stay focused, strengthen unity and promote cooperation at a time when the world is facing chaos and turmoil.

Any external interference in domestic affairs of any country in the region under any pretext must be resolutely opposed to secure the view that Central Asia is a "pure land" for win-win cooperation and not a "battlefield" of geopolitical maneuvering, Qin said.

The five Central Asian foreign ministers agreed that cooperation with China has set an example of mutually beneficial cooperation for others.

The upcoming summit will open a new chapter of Central Asia-China relations, provide new opportunities for Central Asian countries' transformation and promote the region's influence, they said.

The China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism was established in 2020, when the first China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held via video link.

During the third foreign ministers' meeting in Kazakhstan last year, it was decided that a summit mechanism will be established for strategic guidance.

Xiao Bin, a researcher of Central Asian studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the decision to hold the China-Central Asia Summit shows the great importance attached to the relations among these countries by the heads of state.

"It will enable more timely and efficient communication among departments at different levels in order to better promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative," he said.