A successful China-Central Asia Summit, held last year, created a new platform for good-neighbourliness and friendly cooperation in the region. This statement came from foreign minister of China Wang Yi during his remarks at the Symposium on the International Situation and China’s Foreign Relations in Beijing on 9 January 2024.
Here is a corresponding excerpt from his speech, devoted to China and central Asia relations:
“China and the five Central Asian countries, connected by mountains and rivers, have always been friendly neighbors. China hopes to see, more than anyone, a stable, prosperous, harmonious and interconnected Central Asia.
At a key moment in the evolving international landscape, President Xi Jinping and the heads of state of the five Central Asian countries gathered in the historical city of Xi’an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, for the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit. This was an event that carries great historical significance and practical relevance.
President Xi Jinping comprehensively elaborated on China’s foreign policy toward Central Asia, and decided, together with the heads of state of the five Central Asian countries, to build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future, formally establish the mechanism of meetings between the heads of state of China and Central Asian countries, and set up a permanent secretariat for the China-Central Asia mechanism.
During the summit, a number of multilateral and bilateral documents were signed, blueprints were drawn up for cooperation in various fields, and consensus was reached on key cooperation initiatives, including building a China-Central Asia energy development partnership and supporting the development of the trans-Caspian international transport corridor.
This historic summit completed the platform building and overall planning of China-Central Asia cooperation, and opened up a new channel for the cooperation to move to higher levels. It will be a new monument in the history of China-Central Asia relations. Cooperation between the two sides, which is based on equality, respect, openness, inclusiveness and mutual support, contributes positive energy and stability to the region and the world at large”.
///nCa, 11 January 2024 (photo credit – Xinhua)