Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Kazakhstan’s President Kasim-Jomart Tokayev ahead of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China, May 17, 2023.
Florence Rowe | AFP | Getty Images
Central Asian heads of state gathered in the historic Chinese city of Xi’an on Thursday for one-on-one talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to sign a pledge of “enduring” friendship and pave the way for a summit that promises a regional deal with Beijing.
China’s foreign ministry said the bilateral talks would lay the groundwork for Friday’s group meeting, the first face-to-face meeting of the six leaders, where Xi will deliver “important” speeches and sign “important” political documents.
In the Silk Road city of Xi’an, banners, billboards and even taxi signs were set up to promote the summit, some in Chinese and Russian.
A large number of foreign journalists also attended to cover the event, including from Africa, where China also seeks to assert and expand its economic and political influence.
The president of energy-rich Turkmenistan, the Central Asian nation furthest from China, was the last of five leaders to arrive, arriving in Xi’an in the early hours of Thursday.
The first to land was Kazakhstan’s President Kasim-Jomart Tokayev – China’s largest trading partner in Central Asia – who held face-to-face talks with Xi on Wednesday, culminating in a “lasting friendship”. ” and the agreement of “sharing weal and woe”.
“We have a common goal – to strengthen bilateral relations,” Tokayev told Xi.
“We are also united by our desire to strengthen regional and international security and cooperation.”
The two sides agreed to take measures to ensure the safe and stable operation of the Kazakhstan section of the Central Asia Natural Gas Pipeline. They also agreed to deepen cooperation on oil and uranium.
The Tokayev-Xi agreement will set the tone for other bilateral meetings as China seeks deeper cooperation with other Central Asian countries for greater food, energy and national security.
Two-way trade between China and Central Asia hit a record $70 billion last year, led by Kazakhstan at $31 billion. Kyrgyzstan followed at $15.5 billion, Turkmenistan at $11.2 billion, Uzbekistan at $9.8 billion and Tajikistan at $2.0 billion.
Xi’s summit with Central Asian leaders will notably overlap with the Group of Seven leaders’ meeting in Japan starting on Friday, where Beijing’s use of “economic coercion” in its foreign engagement is expected to be on the agenda.