China and Central Asian Leaders will participate in first-ever in-person Summit on May 18-19 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced on Monday that President Xi Jinping will chair the China-Central Asia Summit, Xinhua news agency reported.
The summit will bring together leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan and will be the first major diplomatic event hosted by China this year.
The meeting will showcase the strong ties between the Central Asian countries and China and the progress made in cooperation since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative.
On January 25, 2022, President Xi Jinping chaired a virtual summit in Beijing to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Central Asian countries. Discussions focused on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, the development of transport corridors connecting China and Central Asia, the operation of oil and gas pipelines, cooperation across the energy industrial chain, collaboration in artificial intelligence and big data.
At the summit, the Joint Statement between Leaders of China and the five Central Asian Countries on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties was adopted and issued.
