Chinese President, 𝐗𝐢 𝐉𝐢𝐧𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 is in Astana, capita of 𝐊𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐤𝐡𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧 to attend the 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚-𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭, along with leaders of the five Central Asian Republics (CARs) — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, to strengthen economic and strategic cooperation.
This meeting takes place amidst the backdrop of Israel-Iran conflict, and intensifying geopolitical competition. Central Asia’s importance to China has grown significantly, both as a 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬 and as a 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 (𝐁𝐑𝐈) for trade with Europe.
Xi is expected to deliver a keynote and hold high-level bilateral talks focused on 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬. On the agenda is a planned $𝟖 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲linking China’s Xinjiang region to Uzbekistan via Kyrgyzstan.
China is the top trading partner for all five CARs, with particularly strong ties to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. It has pledged billions of dollars in investment across the region. The summit marked a continuation of China’s deepening commitment to the region and reaffirmed its intent to be a long-term development and security partner.
Russia’s preoccupation in Ukraine may have given China an opportunity to consolidate its influence among the five former Soviet CARs. Do you agree?
𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: This article has references to official and open sources, including Al Jazeera.