Opening a New Era of China Central Asia Cooperation

China and the five Central Asian countries are good neighbors, good friends, good partners, and good brothers with a shared destiny. Adhering to the principles of mutual respect, good-neighborly friendship, solidarity, and mutual benefit, China Central Asian relations and bilateral cooperation have gone through a "golden thirty years". The upcoming China China Asia Summit in Xi'an is of milestone significance in the development history of China's relations with Central Asian countries. It will chart a new blueprint for China Central Asian relations and usher in a new era of cooperation between the two sides.

The China Central Asia Summit will promote the continuous deepening of strategic mutual trust between China and Central Asian countries. China and Central Asian countries are friendly neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners. At the beginning of 2022, the video summit marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries was held, and a mechanism for cooperation between China and Central Asia emerged. The China Central Asia Summit is the first physical summit held by six heads of state in the 31 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. Heads of state will review the development process of China Central Asia relations, exchange views on the construction of China Central Asia mechanisms, cooperation in various fields, and major international and regional issues of common concern.

The China Asia Summit will inject new impetus into the high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". Central Asian countries are the first countries to publicly support the initiative, and are also pioneers in co building the "the Belt and Road" cooperation. In the past 10 years, the five Central Asian countries have actively participated in the construction of the "the Belt and Road". China and the Central Asian countries have aligned their development strategies. Policy communication, facility connectivity, smooth trade, financial integration and people to people connectivity among countries have been significantly strengthened. The cooperation in jointly building the "the Belt and Road" has yielded fruitful results, which has been recognized by all countries. Central Asia has become a high-quality demonstration area for jointly building the "the Belt and Road". During the China Asia Summit, all parties will discuss how to further jointly build the "the Belt and Road" with high quality. Korrumbayev, chief editor of Kazakhstan's Industry Daily, expressed confidence that the convening of this summit will strongly promote the continued development of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".

The China Asia Summit will plan a new blueprint for deepening practical cooperation. China and Kazakhstan have developed a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, maintaining comprehensive strategic partnerships with Ouzbékistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Currently, China Central Asia cooperation is at the highest level in history. Mutually beneficial cooperation brings tangible benefits to countries and people. China is the largest trade and investment partner of the five Central Asian countries. In 2022, the trade volume between China and the five Central Asian countries reached 70.2 billion US dollars, setting a new historical high. As of the end of 2022, China's direct investment stock in the five Central Asian countries reached nearly 15 billion US dollars. At the Xi'an Summit, heads of state will review the history of friendly exchanges, sort out the achievements of cooperation, propose new cooperation initiatives, solidly and efficiently promote all-round, deep-seated, and multidimensional cooperation between China and Central Asia, and create a new pattern of deep complementarity and high win-win cooperation.

The China Asia Summit will make new contributions to maintaining regional security. China and Central Asian countries are interdependent and coexist in peace and security. In the face of a world intertwined with turmoil, promoting China's relations with Central Asian countries is crucial for the peaceful development of both sides and the region. China and Central Asian countries have achieved significant cooperation in jointly combating the "three forces" through bilateral and multilateral platforms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the CICA, effectively ensuring the security of various countries and regions. All parties respect each other's chosen development path based on their own national conditions, firmly support each other on issues related to each other's core interests, firmly oppose external interference in their internal affairs, and do not allow anyone or any force to cause chaos and turbulence in Central Asia. Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kurubayev stated that all participants in the China Central Asia mechanism are close neighbors, and the achievements or problems of any country will have a profound impact on the development of the entire region. At the summit, all parties will reiterate their consistent stance of mutual firm support on issues related to each other's core interests, exchange views on regional and international hotspot issues such as Afghanistan, and issue a common voice to defend multilateralism, jointly maintain regional and world peace and security.

Ride the wind and waves, and follow the trend. China Central Asia cooperation meets the needs of both sides' cooperation, meets the expectations of the people of the six countries, and conforms to the trend of the times. This summit will inevitably usher in a new era of China Central Asia cooperation, help build a closer China Central Asia community with a shared future, and write a better tomorrow for China's relations with Central Asian countries.