BEIJING, Jan 26 ( Asia Free Press): China, in its first major diplomatic activity of the year with five Central Asian countries, named Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in a virtual summit, have pledged to build an even closer community with a shared future, according to media reports.
The virtual summit ” Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries ” was chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping, attended by leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, reported Xinhua.
“No matter how the international landscape may evolve or how developed China may grow, China will always remain a good neighbor, a good partner, a good friend, and a good brother that Central Asian countries can trust and count on,” Xi said while reaffirming China’s commitment to the region.
Hailing the development of China-Central Asia relations over the past three decades as “a good example of fostering a new type of international relations,” Xi pointed out that the keys to the successful cooperation are mutual respect, good-neighborly friendship, solidarity in trying times and mutual benefit.
Xi also suggested that the two sides should speed up high-quality cooperation, and strengthen cooperation on artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other high-tech sectors.
The leaders of the five Central Asian countries spoke highly of the fruitful results of cooperation with China, praising the development of relations between Central Asian countries and China that has not only promoted their respective development and prosperity, but also effectively safeguarded regional peace and stability.
The Central Asian leaders said they will work with China “together for a shared future,” echoing the motto for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and also said that they eagerly look forward to attending the opening ceremony of the sporting event in Kazakhstan.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the heads of state of the six countries reviewed the past, summed up their experience, discussed cooperation, and reached many important consensuses, which will inject new impetus into the future development of relations, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng told media after the summit.
According to a joint statement released after the summit, China and the Central Asian countries agreed to strengthen the docking of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the five nations’ own development strategies.
