TouristslookataTangDynasty(618-907)tri-coloredfigurinedepictingcamel-ridingmusiciansatShaanxiHistoryMuseuminXi"an,northwestChina"sShaanxiProvince,May11,2023.(Xinhua/LiYibo)

(资料图片仅供参考)

ExpertsanticipatetheChina-CentralAsiaSummitwillprovideamuch-neededboosttotherelationshipbetweenChinaandCentralAsiaandBeltandRoadcooperation.

BEIJING,May15(Xinhua)--TheChina-CentralAsiaSummitissettotakeplaceinXi"an,thecapitalcityofChina"sShaanxiProvince,onMay18and19.Ontheoccasion,theheadsofstateofKazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan,TurkmenistanandUzbekistanwillgatherinChinaforthefirsttimesincetheBeijing2022WinterOlympics.

Theeventisthefirstsummitheldofflinebytheheadsofstateofthesixcountriessinceestablishingdiplomaticties31yearsago.ThedevelopmentofrelationsbetweenChinaandCentralAsiancountriesmarksasignificantmilestone,pavingthewayforaneweraofcooperationandcreatingafreshblueprintfortheirpartnership.

AcraneloadscontainersatarailwayportinHorgos,northwestChina"sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion,May11,2023.(Xinhua/WangFei)

MEETINGNEWDEMAND

TheupcomingsummitwasbornoutoftheChina+CentralAsia(C+C5)cooperationmechanism,establishedin2020tomeetagrowingdemandfordeepercooperationbetweenChinaandCentralAsia.

ThreeofthefiveCentralAsiancountries--Kazakhstan,KyrgyzstanandTajikistan--shareborderswithChina,extendingaslongas3,000km.ThestabilityinCentralAsiaiscrucialtomaintainingthestabilityofChina,especiallyinitsnorthwestregion.

Thefriendlyexchangesbetweenthetwosidestracebacktoancienttimes.Morethan2,100yearsago,ZhangQiansetofffromwhatisnowXi"anasanenvoyoftheHanDynasty.HestartedhismissiontothewesternregionsviaCentralAsia,whicheventuallyledtotheopeningoftheSilkRoad.

AfterthefiveCentralAsianstatesdeclaredindependencein1991,Chinawasamongthefirstcountriestorecognizetheirsovereigntyandestablishdiplomaticrelationswiththem.Sincethen,ChinaandthefiveCentralAsiancountrieshavesuccessivelyformedstrategicpartnerships.Amongthem,ChinahaselevateditstieswithKazakhstantoapermanentcomprehensivestrategicpartnershipandestablishedcomprehensivestrategicpartnershipswithUzbekistan,Kyrgyzstan,TajikistanandTurkmenistan.

EconomicandtradecooperationbetweenChinaandthefivecountrieshasachievedtangibleresultssinceestablishingdiplomaticties.China"stradewiththefivereached70billionU.S.dollarsin2022andrecordedayear-on-yearexpansionof22percentinthefirstquarterofthisyear.AsoftheendofMarch,China"sdirectinvestmentstockinCentralAsiastoodatover15billiondollars.

CentralAsiaisanimportantenergysuppliertoChina.Chinaoncereceived30percentofitsnaturalgasimportsthroughtheChina-CentralAsiapipeline.ResidentsinBeijing,ShanghaiandothercitiesalreadyusenaturalgasfromTurkmenistan.

Atthemultilaterallevel,theShanghaiCooperationOrganization(SCO)haslongbeentheleadingplatformforcooperationbetweenChinaandCentralAsia.WiththeexceptionofTurkmenistan,whichadherestothepolicyofpermanentneutrality,theotherfourCentralAsiancountriesareallfoundingmembersoftheSCO.Withintheframework,ChinahasconductedfruitfulsecuritycooperationwithCentralAsiancountriesandmaderemarkableachievementsincombatingthe"threeforces"ofterrorism,separatismandextremism,andpromotingthepeaceprocessinAfghanistan.

AstheSCOmembershipexpands,itsagendahasbecomemorediverse.InadditiontocontinuingtheircooperationwithintheSCOframework,ChinaandCentralAsiancountriesalsoneedanewspecializedmultilateralcooperationmechanism.In2020,theC+C5cooperationmechanismwasintroduced.

GroundcrewmembersmakepreparationsbeforethefirstpassengerflightoftheXi"an-Urumqi-AshgabatroutetakesoffinXi"an,northwestChina"sShaanxiProvince,May13,2023.(Xinhua/ShaoRui)

HIGHLYANTICIPATEDSUMMIT

CentralAsia,locatedintheheartofEurasia,hasservedasabridgeconnectingtheEastandtheWest.Regionalcountrieshavealwayspursuedbalanceddiplomacy.Topromotethecollectiveinterestsoftheregion,effortshavebeenmadetopresentaunifiedpositiononbothregionalandinternationalmatters.

CentralAsiaisincreasinglyinclinedtocoordinatediplomaticallyintheglobalarena.IthasestablishedtheC5+1mechanismwithvariouspartiessuchasChina,theUnitedStates,Russia,JapanandtheEuropeanUnion.

WorkingwithregionsasawholeisnotuncommonforChina.Forexample,Chinahasestablishedthe"10+1"mechanismwiththeAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations.

TheC+C5cooperationmechanismhasdevelopedrapidly.DuringthefourC+C5foreignministers"meetings,severalprojectswereplannedforthebettermentofthepeople.TheseprojectsincludeestablishingtheChina-CentralAsiaAgriculturalCooperationCenter,atraditionalmedicinecenter,andtheLubanWorkshop,aChinesevocationalworkshopprogramtrainingtalentsoverseas.

OnJan.25,2022,ChinaandthefiveCentralAsiancountriesjointlyannouncedbuildingaChina-CentralAsiacommunitywithasharedfuture.OnJune8,2022,thethirdC+C5foreignministers"meetingestablishedaChina-CentralAsiaheadsofstatemeetingmechanism.

ItisworthnotingthatwheninteractingwithCentralAsiancountries,Chinarespectstheirdevelopmentpathsandconsiderstheirinterests.

Meanwhile,ChinafirstproposedtheBeltandRoadInitiativeinKazakhstanin2013.Sinceitsinception,theinitiativehasbeenwidelywelcomedintheregion,helpingregionalcountriesaccessbroadermarketsandpromotingbuildingcompleteindustrialsystemsintheseresource-richnations.

Withthe10thanniversaryoftheBeltandRoadInitiativeapproaching,expertsanticipatetheChina-CentralAsiaSummitwillprovideamuch-neededboosttotherelationshipbetweenChinaandCentralAsiaandBeltandRoadcooperation.

AccordingtoSerikKorzhumbayev,editor-in-chiefofDelovoyKazakhstannewspaper,holdingtheChina-CentralAsiaSummitinXi"an,thestartingpointoftheancientSilkRoad,issignificant.

Korzhumbayevsaidtheupcomingsummitcouldpotentiallyenhancelong-termcooperationanddevelopmentacrossmultiplefieldsbetweenChinaandCentralAsia.Thiscouldleadtobroaderprospectsandaboostinmomentum.

"Thesummitwillhaveapositiveeffectonthelong-termcooperationanddevelopmentofourcountries,"saidKorzhumbayev."AnewformatofcooperationwillmakeitpossibletoinvolvetheCentralAsianregionwithChina"slargemarketincloseeconomicties."