The China-Central Asia Summit is scheduled to open on May 18 in the northwest Chinese city of Xian. At China’s invitation, presidents from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will attend the summit.
Since establishing diplomatic relations three decades ago, China and the five Central Asian countries have developed strategic partnerships and found a new path of good neighborliness, friendship and win-win cooperation, thus setting up a paradigm for a new type of international relations.
A batch of cooperation projects have been launched in the fields of cultural communication, transportation, and oil and gas exploration. What significant outcomes have China and the five Central Asian countries achieved in the past decades? “Chart of the Day” takes a deep dive.
Cultural communication
Over the past 30 years, China and the Central Asian countries have enhanced mutual understanding and affinity through reciprocal exchanges. As of 2022, the two sides had established 58 pairs of sister cities, 13 Confucius Institutes, and 22 Confucius Classrooms. Many Chinese universities also established research centers focusing on Central Asian countries and languages.
According to the announcement at the video summit marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and five Central Asian countries in 2022, the number of sister cities between the two sides will increase to 100 pairs in the next five to ten years.
Transportation
The China Railway Express (CR Express), which runs through Central Asia, has grown rapidly. The assembly center of CR Express in Xian has 17 mainlines from the city to Central Asia countries, which has become the golden channel for two-way logistics in China and Central Asia. The operating number of the CR Express Chang’an freight train surpassed 160,000 journeys in ten years since its debut in 2013.
The Western Europe-Western China (WE-WC) Highway, which stretches 8,445 kilometers from China’s Yellow Sea coastal city Lianyungang to the Baltic Sea at St. Petersburg in Russia, also plays a vital role as the channel for two-way logistics. The expressway links dozens of cities in China, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Cargos sent from between China, Central Asia, and Europe will have their journey shortened from 45 days to 10 days as road transport replaces sea freight.
Energy
There are some landmark projects in the field of energy exploration, such as the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline and the China-Kazakhstan Oil Pipeline.
Running through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan and linking up with China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the China-Central Asia gas pipeline is China’s first transnational gas pipeline. The gas pipeline has delivered more than 400 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China since 2009.
China-Kazakhstan Oil Pipeline is China’s first overland cross-border crude oil pipeline. It runs from Kazakhstan, passes through the Alataw Pass, and links up with Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China. The oil pipeline has delivered more than 10 million tons of crude oil to China in 2022. ///CGTN, 16 May 2023