According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the China-Central Asia Summit will be held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province from May 18 to 19, 2023. The leaders of China and the five Central Asian countries will gather in Xi'an.

Central Asia is where the Belt and Road Initiative was initiated. In the ancient city of Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, it is undoubtedly of great significance to hold the China-Central Asia Summit. What expectations do all parties have for the upcoming summit? How will we work together to build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future?

New heights in economic and trade cooperation

The geographical proximity gives China a natural advantage in cooperation with the five Central Asian countries. In recent years, China and the five Central Asian countries have also become increasingly close in economic and trade exchanges. Data show that in 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and the five Central Asian countries will reach US$70.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 40%, hitting a record high, and direct investment will continue to remain stable. In the first two months of 2023, the trade volume between China and Central Asia will increase by 22% year-on-year, showing a strong momentum of development.

Chinese wind power equipment shipped to Kazakhstan

In addition, in 2022, China's imports of agricultural products, energy products, and mineral products from Central Asian countries will all increase by more than 50% year-on-year, exports of mechanical and electrical products to Central Asian countries will increase by 42% year-on-year, and cross-border e-commerce trade between China and Central Asia will increase by 95% year-on-year . China has become one of the important economic and trade partners of the five Central Asian countries. In this May, China and the five Central Asian countries will also hold e-commerce live broadcast shopping activities to promote high-quality products from the five Central Asian countries to Chinese consumers.

The Belt and Road Initiative promotes interconnection among countries

2023 is the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. Central Asia is the place where the Belt and Road initiative was initiated, and Xi’an is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road. More than 2,000 years ago, the Silk Road stretched thousands of miles from here, connecting the Friendly exchanges between China and Central Asia. In the upcoming China-Central Asia Summit, leaders of various countries will gather in the ancient capital of Xi'an, which also gives the China-Central Asia Summit more significance.

Not long ago, the launching ceremony of the 10th Anniversary of the China Railway Express Belt and Road Initiative, the Chang'an Xi'an-Central Asia Special Train, was held in the Xi'an International Port Area. In November 2013, the first China-Europe Railway Express Chang'an departed from here and headed for Kazakhstan. Over the past ten years, the Chang'an has operated more than 16,000 trains. Among them, the five Central Asian countries have opened 4,250 trains, covering different types of goods such as automobiles, food, daily necessities, and non-legacy cultural and creative products, which has effectively promoted the interconnection between China and the five Central Asian countries. At present, China and Central Asian countries have signed cooperation documents on the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. By the end of 2022, the stock of China's direct investment in the five Central Asian countries will be nearly US$15 billion, and the formation of major international transportation channels will be accelerated.

Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: The pattern we have formed now is an all-round, wide-ranging, and multi-level cooperation pattern. Cooperation has been promoted in the fields of politics, economy, security, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Head-of-state diplomacy plays a strategic leading role here. Therefore, through the China-Central Asia Summit, we can make a very long-term strategic plan and promote the docking cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. This is beneficial to China and Central Asia, and will be beneficial to the economic development of the Eurasian continent and even the world. bring tangible benefits. I think this kind of cooperation between Central Asian countries and China can completely serve as a demonstration. Through our efforts, we can first build a community of shared future in the region, and in this way promote the realization of the goal of a community of shared future for mankind.

Special commentator Su Xiaohui: In recent years, the relationship between China and Central Asia has been constantly moving forward. From China's point of view, in the process of promoting the development of relations between China and Central Asian countries, it embodies the concept of neighborhood diplomacy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness, which is the continuous promotion of China's diplomacy and the embodiment of major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Concrete embodiment. And we will see the expectations for this summit. All parties hope to achieve fruitful results. All-round cooperation and the promotion of the construction of a community of shared future will be the core. In the process of building a community, it is obvious that China and important countries will continue to advance in various aspects. Whether it is strengthening political mutual trust, deepening economic and trade cooperation, or maintaining regional security, more consensus will be gathered in the process of promoting the construction of a community of shared future .Editor/Ma Xue