China and five former Soviet republics in Central Asia have ended an unprecedented two-day summit with an agreement to deepen co-operation on energy, infrastructure, finance, trade and security.
At the summit, China’s president Xi Jinping urged his fellow leaders to resist efforts to divide them and to work together to create a Eurasian hub.
“Ethnic conflicts, religious strife, and cultural estrangement are not the defining feature of the region. Instead, solidarity, inclusiveness, and harmony are the pursuits of the Central Asian people. No one has the right to sow discord or stoke confrontation in the region, let alone seek selfish political interests,” he told the meeting.
Joining Mr Xi in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi’an were the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. China has become more influential in the region in recent years although Russia also remains an important trading partner for the Central Asian states as well as a security guarantor.
The five states declined to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year but like China, they have not condemned it either. Weeks after China’s ambassador to France questioned the full, sovereign status of former Soviet republics, Mr Xi stressed his commitment to their independence.
“The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be upheld; their people’s choice of development paths must be respected; and their efforts for peace, harmony and tranquillity must be supported,” he said.
“Ethnic conflicts, religious strife, and cultural estrangement are not the defining feature of the region. Instead, solidarity, inclusiveness, and harmony are the pursuits of the Central Asian people. No one has the right to sow discord or stoke confrontation in the region, let alone seek selfish political interests.”
China has promised to ease trade restrictions, streamlining customs clearance for agricultural products from the five states and called for their natural gas pipeline network to be expanded. Mr Xi said he would encourage Chinese firms in Central Asia to create more local jobs and he promised RMB26 billion in development aid to the five states.
Mr Xi promised to oppose outside interference in the domestic affairs of the Central Asian states and attempts to “instigate colour revolutions”. He said they should take a zero-tolerance approach to “the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism” and work together to resolve security issues.
“China is ready to help Central Asian countries strengthen capacity building on law enforcement, security and defence, support their independent efforts to safeguard regional security and fight terrorism, and work with them to promote cybersecurity. We will continue to leverage the role of the co-ordination mechanism among Afghanistan’s neighbours, and jointly promote peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan,” he said.
The summit was the first in-person summit of its kind and Mr Xi had bilateral meetings with each of the five other leaders ahead of Friday’s plenary session. They agreed to make the summit a biennial event, with the next meeting to be held in Kazakhstan in 2025.
