Heartfelt moments marked Xi's Central Asia visit

Amid rounds of applauses and standing ovations from the audience, President Xi Jinping conferred China's Friendship Medal on Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in a grand ceremony in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The atmosphere remained electric at the Palace of the Nation, the official residence of the Tajik president, as the two leaders shared a firm and long handshake after Rahmon received the medal, which is China's highest state honor for foreign nationals.

Rahmon, visibly overwhelmed by emotions, held his right hand over his heart several times in a gesture of appreciation, as he told the audience, "My old friend, the president of the People's Republic of China, is one of the few great leaders of our time with a global vision."

The remark drew another standing ovation from the audience, in a show of immense respect for the Chinese president.

Rahmon then turned to Xi and said, "Dear friend and brother, I believe that the outcome of your state visit will open a new, illustrious chapter in the history of relations between our two countries."

It was a quintessential moment of Xi's trip to Central Asia over the past week — one that was filled with heartfelt receptions, fruitful diplomatic engagements and overarching visions for the future development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

"A complete success" was the phrase used by Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a media interview to wrap up Xi's attendance at the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO in the Kazakh capital, Astana, and his state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

Xi's visit to Central Asia has further enhanced China's strategic mutual trust with relevant countries, and consolidated and expanded the nation's "circle of friends", while enriching and expanding the theory and practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Wang said.

Xi's speech at the SCO summit highlighted the importance of unity and cooperation within the grouping in the face of global challenges. The summit adopted the Astana Declaration, the SCO initiative on building a just and peaceful world through collective effort.

It also issued a statement on principles of mutual trust and partnership among nations, and 26 outcome documents covering diverse fields such as economics, finance, security, culture and institutional development.

Xi's visit to Astana — his fifth to Kazakhstan — featured grand receptions and heartfelt goodwill gestures, mirroring the strong personal bond between the Chinese president and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Through their long and cordial exchanges, the two heads of state reaffirmed their strong political will to advance the building of a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future, while drawing up plans to start another "golden 30 years" of bilateral relations, Foreign Minister Wang said.

The two leaders also pledged to double the volume of bilateral trade and expand partnerships in key sectors including energy, connectivity, key minerals and the digital economy.

Xi's three-day visit to Tajikistan went into full swing on Friday as the leaders held talks, jointly met with the media and witnessed the exchange of over 20 cooperation agreements. They also jointly inaugurated the new government and parliament building of Tajikistan, constructed with aid from China.

Wang said the interactions between Xi and Rahmon have always been filled with sincere thoughts, with the Tajik side expressing gratitude to China and profound admiration for Xi.

Xi held a host of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Astana, underscoring Beijing's commitment to Chinese modernization and sharing with various countries opportunities emerging from its development.

Andrey Seleznev, director of the Confucius Institute at Moscow State Linguistic University, said that Xi's trip to Central Asia has helped strengthen China's relations with countries in the region at the economic and people-to-people levels. It appears that China is ready to open its market wider to Central Asian countries, he said.

The messages from Beijing at the SCO summit in Astana resonated with leaders and observers.

Rahmon, who is among the SCO's founding leaders, said that the grouping established "under a great initiative proposed by the Chinese people" is advancing gloriously and is committed to global development. "It teaches us how to coexist, cooperate and prosper together," he said.

Dicky Budiman, a public health researcher at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, said that Xi has underscored the significant shifts in the global landscape and the necessity for unity and cooperation among member states to address these changes.

"President Xi's speech articulates a comprehensive framework for addressing contemporary global challenges through solidarity, mutual trust and cooperative security. As the world navigates these transformative times, such collaborative efforts will be critical in building a resilient and equitable future for all," Budiman said.