Xi's Central Asia trip pushes for China's stronger bond with regional countries

ASTANA -- President Xi Jinping's state visit to Kazakhstan, the first leg of his ongoing Central Asia trip, has yielded fruitful results, a testament to China's commitment to jointly building a more substantive and dynamic China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future.

Xi also held respective meetings on Wednesday with several leaders of regional countries ahead of the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana. In these meetings, they vowed to promote high-quality cooperation, enhance connectivity and strengthen the alignment of development strategies, in a bid to bring more benefits to their peoples and the region.

NEW 'GOLDEN 30 YEARS'

Xi arrived in Kazakhstan on Tuesday for a state visit and attendance at the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO.

On Wednesday, when meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the presidential palace in Astana, Xi said that he is ready to work with Tokayev to jointly build a more substantive and dynamic China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future, and inject more positive energy to the development and stability of the region and beyond.

During their talks, Xi noted that last year Tokayev and him met twice in Xi'an and Beijing respectively, and made new arrangements and plans for the development of China-Kazakhstan relations, leading the "golden 30 years" of rapid development of China-Kazakhstan relations.

Following the talks, the two heads of state signed a joint statement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan, and witnessed the exchange of dozens of bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of economy and trade, connectivity, aviation and aerospace, education and media.

When jointly meeting the press with Tokayev, Xi said that China and Kazakhstan have set a new goal of doubling two-way trade at an early date.

The two sides agreed to continuously deepen cooperation in such traditional areas as economy, trade, investment, production capacity, interconnectivity and energy, and jointly foster new growth points for cooperation in critical minerals, new energy, scientific and technological innovation, aerospace, digital economy and other fields, Xi said.

Xi said the Chinese side will hold China tourism year in Kazakhstan in 2025. The Chinese side has also decided to open the second Luban Workshop in the Central Asian country, he said, adding that the two sides will expand cooperation in such fields as media, think tanks, as well as films and television, and encourage more sistership among provinces and cities of the two countries.

The two sides have pledged to continue working closely in international affairs and strengthen coordination and cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, the SCO, the China-Central Asia mechanism as well as other multilateral frameworks, he said.

China supports Kazakhstan in joining BRICS cooperation mechanism, playing the role of a "middle power" on the international stage and making its due contribution to global governance, Xi said.

On the same day, in a major step aimed at bolstering connectivity and cooperation, Xi and Tokayev attended the opening ceremonies of one transportation project and several cultural exchange facilities.

The two heads of state presided over the opening ceremony of a road transport route to a Caspian Sea port via video link. Apart from attending the opening ceremony of the Chinese Culture Center in Astana and the Kazakh Culture Center in Beijing, the two heads of state also unveiled here the Kazakhstan Branch of Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU).

These projects, poised to enhance both bilateral and regional connectivity, highlight the two countries' commitment to strengthening ties, and evoke the region's illustrious history as a crossroads of trade and culture.

BOOST REGIONAL COOPERATION

China will assume the rotating presidency of the SCO following Kazakhstan, Xi said Wednesday. During talks with Tokayev, Xi said that China stands ready to jointly build an even closer SCO community with a shared future with the SCO member states including Kazakhstan.

China last hosted the SCO summit in 2018 in Qingdao, a coastal city in China's eastern Shandong Province, where Xi proposed the building of an SCO community with a shared future.

During his stay in Astana, Xi also held meetings with leaders of multiple countries, including SCO member states and dialogue partner, in a bid to promote bilateral relations as well as regional stability, prosperity and cooperation.

When meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi urged both countries to continue to strengthen the alignment of development strategies and international strategic coordination. Facing an international situation fraught with turbulence and changes, China and Russia should keep upholding the original aspiration of lasting friendship, and sticking to the determination of benefiting the people, he said.

China and Russia, Xi said, should continue to strengthen comprehensive strategic coordination, oppose external interference and jointly safeguard regional tranquility and stability.

Putin vowed to fully support China's work of the rotating presidency of the SCO during the upcoming term and work with other member states to continuously enhance the international influence of the organization, safeguard regional peace and security, and promote the development of the international system in a more just and equitable direction.

For the ties with Uzbekistan, Xi said that China is ready to work with Uzbekistan to promote the high-quality development of China-Uzbekistan relations with the future of the country and the well-being of its people in mind, during his meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev earlier in the day.

During Mirziyoyev's successful state visit to China in January, China and Uzbekistan agreed to elevate their ties to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era, and promote the construction of a China-Uzbekistan community with a shared future from a higher starting point, Xi said, noting the development of bilateral relations have ushered in a new stage.

China firmly supports Uzbekistan in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and security, and is always a trustworthy friend and partner of Uzbekistan, he added.

When meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Xi urged both countries to explore new ways of thinking to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to make it continue to deepen and more effective, as well as to further expand economic, trade and investment cooperation, enhance connectivity and expand cooperation on new quality productive forces.

China firmly supports Kyrgyzstan in safeguarding national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and in finding a development path suited to its national conditions, he added.

Kyrgyzstan-China relations have always been rock-solid, and there are no political differences or cooperation obstacles between the two countries, said Japarov, hoping the two sides will work together to promote the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project and close multilateral communication and collaboration in the SCO and other platforms.

Also on Wednesday, Xi, together with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, announced the upgrade of bilateral relations to strategic partnership, which is a new positioning and a new starting point.

As good friends with sincerity and mutual trust, as well as good partners with equality and mutual benefit, China and Azerbaijan should jointly advocate an equal and orderly world multipolarity, and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and promote world peace, stability and development, he said.