Xi's Central Asia trip aimed at common development, all-win cooperation

BEIJING - President Xi Jinping's just-concluded trip to four Central Asian nations has contributed to upgrading relations between China and these countries on a full scale, said analysts and media organizations in various countries.

Xi paid state visits to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from September 3 to 13, and attended a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) in St. Petersburg, Russia, and a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Xi's participation in the two summits is of great significance in lifting China's position in global economic governance and promoting the sound and stable development of the SCO, said analysts.

Regional cooperation

An article published on Rossiyskaya Gazeta said the 12-year-old SCO has been faithful to its original intention of safeguarding regional security and fighting the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism. Meanwhile, the organization provided a wider space for pragmatic cooperation among members states, promoted trade and economic development as well as cooperation in legislation, technology, culture and humanities, the report said.

The SCO has various observers and dialogue partners such as Mongolia, Iran, India and Pakistan. The organization represents nearly half of the global population, it said.

Another Russian newspaper Vzglyad said the SCO, which groups Russia, China and four Central Asian countries, has an increasingly important role in regional and international politics. The revitalization of these countries will help better safeguard peace and promote civility and common prosperity.

Sergi Ivanovich, an official at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, said Xi's proposal to establish an SCO development bank and an SCO special account is very necessary as they would provide a good financing platform from which SCO member states can get aid when they meet natural disasters and financial crisis.

He saw the bank as an effective mechanism to ensure economic development and national security of SCO member countries.

Turkish political scientist Ramiz Meshedihasanli echoed Ivanovich's viewpoint, saying Xi's proposal was of practical significance as it is imperative to establish an effective mechanism of financing for large multilateral cooperative projects. He also believed that SCO cooperation should go beyond trade.

Kubanychbek Tabaldiyev, director of Kyrgyzstan's National Information Agency Kabar, noted that Xi stressed pragmatic cooperation among SCO member states in transportation, energy and agriculture. As the regional bloc covers a vast area, conducting cooperation in the above-mentioned areas will improve SCO members' ability to deal with crises, Tabaldiyev said.

Akram Zaki, former Pakistani ambassador to China, said: "It (SCO) was a child in the start of the century but after one decade now we may call it a young mechanism with a promising prospect to boost common security and development in the Eurasia region."

"China has pushed economic development and trade as the new priorities for the SCO. China certainly has deployed aid, investment, and infrastructure projects that further its economic expansion through the SCO. At the forum of SCO, China presents a model of development," he said.