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

CHINA-CENTRAL ASIA COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE

In his keynote speech at the summit, Xi said that to build a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, efforts should be made to stay committed to the four principles of mutual assistance, common development, universal security, and everlasting friendship.

China and Central Asian countries should deepen strategic mutual trust, and always offer clear and strong support to each other on issues of core interests such as those involving sovereignty, independence, national dignity and long-term development, he said.

Xi called on the six countries to continue to set the pace for Belt and Road cooperation, to fully unlock the potentials in traditional areas of cooperation such as economy, trade, industrial capacity, energy and transportation, and to forge new drivers of growth in finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, green and low-carbon development, medical service, health, and digital innovation.

The six countries should resolutely oppose external interference in the internal affairs of regional countries and attempts to instigate "color revolutions," and maintain a zero-tolerance stance against the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, he said.

They should carry forward their traditional friendship, enhance people-to-people exchanges, do more to share their experience in governance, deepen cultural mutual learning, and increase mutual understanding, he added.