BEIJING: In China, President Xi Jinping is hosting a two-day summit of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which has become as important as the G7 meeting in Japan.
According to the World News Agency, Russia is losing its influence in the secessionist Asian countries due to international sanctions since the Ukraine war. China has stepped in to fill this gap. In the Chinese city of Xi’an, President Xi Jinping welcomed the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan who arrived at the invitation of the Chinese President to participate in a two-day meeting. This is the first meeting of its kind of heads of Central Asian countries. Through this platform, China can accelerate progress on its multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative and make its goods accessible to the global market.
It should be remembered that China has chosen its historic city of Xi’an for the first meeting of Central Asian countries because it is the city from which the Silk Road was once launched.
Before the meeting, Yu Jun, Deputy Director General of the European and Central Asian Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said in a press briefing that during the meeting, the methods of cooperation between these countries and international and regional issues will be discussed.
He further said that many agreements are also expected to be signed between the parties in this meeting.
China’s General Administration of Customs published data on Wednesday showing that China’s imports and exports with Central Asian countries in the first four months of 2023 were 173.05 billion yuan ($24.8 billion) from last year. It is 37.3% more than the same period.
It should be noted that President Xi Jinping made his first visit to Russia after becoming the president for the fourth consecutive time and the second most powerful leader in the country’s history, in which many important agreements were concluded.
This summit is being considered as a link to the meeting between the Chinese and Russian presidents.