Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Bishkek, July 4 /Xinhua/ — “The spirit of China – Central Asia” has its roots in the distant past and corresponds to the trend of the current reality. This is stated in the author’s article by the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Kyrgyzstan Liu Jiangping, published recently in the newspaper “Slovo Kyrgyzstana”.
In June, the second China-Central Asia summit was held in Astana, Kazakhstan. In her article entitled “Promoting the China-Central Asia Spirit, Building a Common Home of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship, Development and Prosperity,” Liu Jiangping recalled that the summit was held in a Central Asian country for the first time, which is of great importance for the further development of the China-Central Asia format.
“Following the summit, the heads of six states signed the Astana Declaration, which recorded the ‘Spirit of China – Central Asia’. More than one hundred agreements were reached, which gave a powerful impetus to the creation of a closer community of shared destiny between China and Central Asia,” she noted.
“The China-Central Asia Spirit” is characterized by mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit, mutual assistance and the promotion of joint modernization through high-quality development. “The highlight of the summit is the confirmation of the “China-Central Asia Spirit”, which has its roots in the distant past and is in line with the trend of the current reality,” the diplomat said in her article.
She stressed that more than two thousand years ago, the envoy of the Han Dynasty Zhang Qian went to the Western Region, laid the foundation for friendly relations between China and Central Asia. For more than 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and the Central Asian countries have maintained solidarity and mutual trust, firmly supporting each other in protecting independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity.
“This spirit demonstrates the unanimity of the six countries in pursuing unity and common development, which serves as a guiding principle for maintaining the centuries-old friendship and cooperation between our countries,” Liu Jiangping said.
The most important outcome of the summit was the signing of the Treaty on Eternal Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation. “For the first time in the history of Chinese diplomacy, the principle of eternal friendship with an entire adjacent region was enshrined in a treaty,” she noted, emphasizing that China and the Central Asian countries are good neighbors, good friends, reliable partners and brothers. China always considers Central Asia as one of its foreign policy priorities and develops relations with Central Asian partners on the principles of equality and sincerity.
The diplomat named the announcement of 2025-2026 as the Years of High-Quality Development of China-Central Asia Cooperation as the most pressing topic of the summit. In recent years, China-Central Asia cooperation has demonstrated high results. China is the most important trading partner and investor in the Central Asian countries.
In the more than two years since the Xi’an summit, cooperation between China and Central Asian countries within the Belt and Road Initiative has continued to deepen. Construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway has begun, and cooperation on the China-Europe express railway and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor is advancing at an accelerated pace, the ambassador said, adding that trade turnover between China and Central Asian countries in 2024 reached a record high of $94.8 billion, an increase of 35 percent.
The Ambassador also noted that China is ready to develop high-quality cooperation with the Central Asian countries in such areas as uninterrupted trade, industry and investment, transport connectivity, green subsoil use, modern agriculture and mutual travel of citizens.
Touching upon Chinese-Kyrgyz cooperation, Liu Jiangping noted that it is an important component of the entire complex of interactions between China and the Central Asian countries. Today, Chinese-Kyrgyz relations have entered a golden period of their development and have significant potential for further deepening. The meeting of the leaders of the two countries on the sidelines of the summit outlined a new plan for the development of Chinese-Kyrgyz relations.
China expressed its readiness to work together with the Central Asian countries, including Kyrgyzstan, to implement the agreements reached by the heads of state. Particular emphasis was placed on the need to promote the “China-Central Asia Spirit”, intensify cooperation through a more pragmatic approach and specific measures, as well as promote high-quality construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative in order to achieve new results in creating a community of shared destiny for China and Central Asia, the ambassador concluded. –0–