Xi chairs milestone summit, hails new era of China-Central Asia ties

From Wednesday to Thursday, Xi met or held talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

Speaking to Xi, the Central Asian leaders expressed their confidence and resolve to strengthen cooperation with China and pursue common development.

In Xi'an, the historical starting point of the ancient Silk Road, Xi held a banquet for the leaders Thursday evening in the Tang Paradise, a complex based on the site of the original relic of an imperial garden dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

In 2013, Xi put forward the initiative of jointly building a Silk Road Economic Belt in Kazakhstan, which was met with enthusiastic response and active participation from Central Asian countries.

Over the past decade, the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Central Asian countries has yielded fruitful results, playing an exemplary role in Eurasia and even in the international community.