Editor's note: President Xi Jinping held a series of talks on Tuesday with leaders from Central Asian countries in Astana, the Kazakh capital, on the sidelines of the second China-Central Asia Summit.
Sino-Kyrgyz relations at historic high
Sadyr Japarov
Cooperation between China and Kyrgyzstan holds great potential, and their relations are now at a historic high, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday during a meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
China is willing to work with Kyrgyzstan to continue deepening the alignment of their development strategies, remain steadfast in supporting each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns, and safeguard their common and long-term interests, Xi said.
The two sides should expand the scale of their trade and investment, deepen financial cooperation, improve connectivity networks, and promote the high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, he said.
In addition, the two countries should expand cooperation in emerging fields, cultivate new areas of growth in clean energy, green minerals and artificial intelligence, enhance communication in fields such as culture, tourism, education and health, and implement more projects that benefit the people, he added.
Both countries should jointly oppose unilateralism, firmly safeguard the international economic and trade order, and promote the construction of a more just and equitable global governance system, Xi said.
Noting that China and Kyrgyzstan will successively assume the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and host summits this year and next year, Xi said that China is willing to work with Kyrgyzstan to support each other and jointly promote the further development of the SCO.
Japarov said that his country places great importance on developing relations with China and it firmly adheres to the one-China principle.
China is Kyrgyzstan's largest trade and investment partner. Kyrgyzstan welcomes more Chinese companies to invest and thrive in the country, and it is willing to work with China and implement projects such as the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, and strengthen cooperation in fields such as energy and green minerals, Japarov said.
Kyrgyzstan is ready to closely coordinate and cooperate with China within the framework of the United Nations, the SCO and the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism, he added.
Beijing, Dushanbe to bolster trade ties
Emomali Rahmon
President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for more practical achievements from the all-around cooperation between China and Tajikistan to build a high-quality community with a shared future.
Xi made the remarks during his meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the second China-Central Asia Summit.
He emphasized that China is a trusted neighbor and partner for Tajikistan, firmly supporting Tajikistan in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and security.
Xi underlined the need for both sides to leverage the role of the mechanism of strategic dialogue between foreign ministers of China and Tajikistan to steer and promote cooperation in various fields. He called for expanding the scale of bilateral trade and investment, accelerating the construction of transportation infrastructure projects, and continuously enhancing mutual connectivity.
It is important to further enhance law enforcement and security cooperation between the two countries to intensify efforts to crack down on terrorism, separatism and extremism, he said.
Noting that China and Tajikistan have common interests in upholding multilateralism and defending the international economic and trade order, Xi called on both countries to strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral mechanisms such as the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism.
China supports Tajikistan in playing an important role in global climate governance, he added.
Rahmon hailed the great accomplishments China has made in social and economic development under Xi's leadership, as well as its important role in international affairs, and recalled Xi's historic state visit to Tajikistan last year.
Tajikistan is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, strengthen strategic communication, enhance cooperation in traditional areas such as trade, investment, agriculture, and infrastructure construction, and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as new energy, green industry and artificial intelligence, Rahmon said.
Following their meeting, the two leaders witnessed the announcement of the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of foreign affairs, economy and trade, transportation, and science and technology.
China, Turkmenistan eye closer links
Serdar Berdimuhamedov
China stands ready to fully unleash the potential of cooperation with Turkmenistan on the basis of mutual respect and win-win cooperation, President Xi Jinping said during his meeting with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
The two countries enjoy strong political mutual trust and have a strong will to cooperate with each other, Xi said.
China hopes to deepen and expand its cooperation with Turkmenistan, and work with the Central Asian country to build a China-Turkmenistan community with a shared future, he said.
Xi called on the two countries to do a good job in aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road, expand bilateral cooperation in natural gas, and explore more cooperation outside the area of resources.
He said that both countries should improve the structure of bilateral trade, improve regional connectivity and hold more people-to-people exchange activities. Xi also called on both countries to strengthen cooperation in law enforcement, security and defense, jointly combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, and enhance cooperation in cybersecurity.
China supports Turkmenistan in joining the World Trade Organization and organizing the fifth meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighboring countries, and is pleased to see Turkmenistan playing a greater constructive role in international affairs as a permanently neutral country, Xi said.
He said China hopes to strengthen coordination with Turkmenistan in international and regional affairs to jointly uphold the multilateral trade system and the common interests of the Global South.
Berdimuhamedov said Turkmenistan hopes to fully widen its cooperation with China.
The country hopes to expand natural gas exports to China, deepen bilateral cooperation in machinery manufacturing and the textile industry, strengthen connectivity, promote people-to-people exchanges and conduct closer cooperation with China in law enforcement and security, he said.
Turkmenistan also hopes to strengthen coordination with China on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, he added.
After their meeting, Xi and Berdimuhamedov witnessed the two countries' joint announcement on signing an intergovernmental agreement on economic and technological cooperation.
Chinese-Uzbek bond mutually beneficial
Shavkat Mirziyoyev
President Xi Jinping expressed on Tuesday China's readiness to work with Uzbekistan to implement more mutually beneficial cooperation projects to support the development of both countries, and jointly build a more substantive and dynamic China-Uzbekistan community with a shared future.
China and Uzbekistan are witnessing a robust and comprehensive expansion of cooperation across various fields, Xi said when meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Astana, Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the second China-Central Asia Summit.
China is willing to strengthen the alignment of development strategies and the exchange of governance experience with Uzbekistan, he said.
The two countries should introduce more measures to promote trade liberalization and facilitation, scale up bilateral trade and investment, and advance the high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway to establish a multidimensional connectivity network, Xi said.
He called on the two sides to expand pragmatic cooperation in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, new energy, smart agriculture and public health, and strengthen cooperation in culture, poverty alleviation, law enforcement and security.
Xi called for joint efforts to crack down on terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as address new threats and challenges, in order to safeguard regional peace and stability.
The two sides should also enhance coordination on multilateral platforms, such as the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, jointly uphold international fairness and justice, and safeguard the international economic and trade order, he added.
Noting that bilateral relations have reached the highest level in history, Mirziyoyev said that Uzbekistan values its friendly ties with China.
He expressed gratitude for China's longstanding and selfless support for Uzbekistan's economic and social development, saying that the country is willing to strengthen exchanges with China on governance experience and study China's experience in poverty alleviation.
Uzbekistan would like to enhance bilateral cooperation in high technology, connectivity, agriculture and green energy to promote the high-quality development of bilateral relations, Mirziyoyev said.
