China-Central Asia Spirit forged

China and the five Central Asian countries signed a treaty of permanent good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation on Tuesday, enshrining the principle of everlasting friendship across generations in the legal form.

President Xi Jinping signed the document with leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, where they gathered for the second China-Central Asia Summit.

Addressing the summit, Xi said that China-Central Asia cooperation is rooted in more than 2,000 years of friendly exchanges, cemented by solidarity and mutual trust, cultivated through more than three decades of diplomatic ties, and taken forward through openness and win-win cooperation of the new era.

As the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, Xi said a strong belief in fairness and justice and an unyielding commitment to mutual benefit and win-win cooperation are the only ways to maintain global peace and achieve common development.

"There is no winner in tariff wars or trade wars. Unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism will surely backfire while hurting others," he said.

"I always maintain that history should move forward, not backward; and the world should be united, not divided. Humanity must not regress to the law of the jungle. Instead, we should build a community with a shared future for mankind," he added.

Xi emphasized that building on the collective efforts over the years, the nations have forged a China-Central Asia Spirit of "mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit and mutual assistance for the joint pursuit of modernization through high-quality development".

He called for carrying forward the China-Central Asia Spirit, enhancing cooperation with renewed vigor and more practical measures, promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and forging ahead toward the goal of a community with a shared future for the region.

"China consistently takes Central Asia as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. With a firm belief in an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood as well as a strong dedication to amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China interacts with Central Asian countries on the basis of equality and sincerity," he said.

Xi highlighted the need to optimize the China-Central Asia cooperation framework to make it more results-oriented, more efficient and more deeply integrated, with collaboration focused on smooth trade, industrial investment, connectivity, green minerals, agricultural modernization and personnel exchanges.

In order to promote relevant cooperation, China will provide a grant of 1.5 billion yuan ($209 million) to Central Asian countries this year to be used in livelihood and development projects high on their agenda, he said, adding that China will also provide 3,000 training opportunities to Central Asian countries over the next two years.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the summit.

They commended the China-Central Asia mechanism as an important platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation between the two sides and driving economic and social development in Central Asian countries. In a world full of uncertainties, the strategic significance of the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism is becoming more prominent, as China's prosperity and strength are benefiting neighboring countries, they said.

Noting that China is a strategic partner and a true friend that Central Asian countries can rely on permanently, the leaders said they look forward to close and all-around cooperation with China to make the China-Central Asia mechanism a model of regional cooperation.

They pledged to closely coordinate and cooperate with China, firmly uphold the principles of free trade and the multilateral trading system, and jointly safeguard international fairness and justice.

The leaders of China and Central Asian countries signed the Astana Declaration of the second China-Central Asia Summit. They also witnessed the launch of three cooperation centers on poverty reduction, education exchange and desertification prevention and control, as well as a cooperation platform on smooth trade under the China-Central Asia cooperation framework. It was decided at the summit that China will host the third China-Central Asia Summit in 2027.

caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn