The Fifth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Pledged To Continue Developing Regional Cooperation

On December 1st, the fifth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting concluded in Chengdu. The participants reached a consensus and signed the Joint Statement of the Fifth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. They agreed to prioritize cooperation in areas such as unimpeded trade, industrial investment, and connectivity. In accordance with the spirit of the meeting, China will join hands with Central Asian countries to further enhance connectivity by improving roads, railways, aviation, maritime transport, multimodal transport, port construction, and data optical cables. The ministers also attended the launch ceremony of the “Tianfu” cross-border highway bus to Central Asia, which is a vivid example of practical cooperation between China and five Central Asian countries.

Kazakhstan Industry News website reported on December 1st that the fifth meeting of foreign ministers of China and Central Asia has become an important platform for these countries to strengthen partnership and discuss key regional and international issues. The parties involved reaffirmed their commitment to deepening political dialogue, developing economic ties, and strengthening cultural and people-to-people exchanges. They stressed that joint infrastructure projects will be implemented, trade procedures simplified, and investment promoted within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. According to a Russian source, the TASS news agency reported on December 2nd that China and the Central Asian countries will promote trade and investment cooperation. All parties agreed to give priority to promoting unimpeded trade cooperation and investment liberalization and facilitation between China and the Central Asian countries. Another Russian news agency,  Nezavisimaya Gazeta, reported on December 2nd that the fifth meeting of foreign ministers of China and Central Asia is committed to strengthening regional cooperation and multilateral partnership ahead of the second China-Central Asia Summit in Kazakhstan, highlighting China’s growing influence in the region. Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported on December 7th that China has officially begun to promote the construction plan of the China-Kyrgyz-Uzbekistan railway, meaning that the China-Kyrgyz-Uzbekistan railway will press the accelerator button and soon become a reality.

In recent years, the bilateral economic and trade cooperation mechanism between China and Central Asian countries has been continuously improved, expanded in scale, and optimized in structure. China has become the largest trading partner and major source of investment in Central Asia. According to Chinese customs statistics, in the first 10 months of 2024, two-way trade reached 77.132 billion US dollars. Meanwhile, China’s direct investment stock in the five Central Asian countries exceeded 17 billion US dollars, and the cumulative contracted project turnover exceeded 60 billion US dollars. It is the common goal of China and Central Asian countries to develop the economy and improve peoples’ livelihoods. All parties have continuously upgraded their cooperation in trade, finance, infrastructure and connectivity. For landlocked Central Asian countries, cooperation with China in digital economy, green transformation, and desertification prevention will help promote sustainable development in the region. Central Asia is also the place where the Belt and Road Initiative was first enacted, and a key demonstration zone for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. More and more China-Europe freight trains travel between China and the five Central Asian countries. At present, cross-border highway buses in Sichuan Province have covered 20 cities in Central Asia, transporting more than 40 kinds of goods. In the next three years, cross-border buses will cover all major cities in the five Central Asian countries.

Adhering to the principles of equality, mutual trust, and mutual respect, China and Central Asian countries have not only established a high degree of trust, but also set an example for friendly relations between neighboring countries. The Central Asian countries fully recognize the various cooperation initiatives put forward by China and are willing to work with China to advance the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. They are also willing to carry out more comprehensive and high-quality cooperation in economy, trade, agriculture, and infrastructure. In addition to economic cooperation, the six foreign ministers also agreed to jointly strengthen law enforcement and security cooperation, combat terrorism, oppose external interference in Central Asian affairs, and safeguard regional peace and stability.

In order to further promote the in-depth cooperation between China and Central Asian countries, it is necessary to continue to increase the carrying capacity of cross-border infrastructure, and optimize the connectivity of railways, airways, and roads in the region. Additionally, it is necessary to enhance the logistics network between China and Central Asia, improve the efficiency of multimodal transport connection, and strengthen the construction of the transport network with the China-Europe Railway as the center. Furthermore, it is also important for these nations to build a smooth cross-border integrated digital service platform.

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