Beijing, 26 January 2022 (TDI): President Xi Jinping chaired the Virtual Summit to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between China and Central Asian Countries yesterday in Beijing.
It was attended by the Kazakh President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President, Sadyr Zhaparov, Tajik President, Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and Uzbek President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Xi Jinping delivered an inspirational speech titled “Joining Hands for a Shared Future”. He shared how China took the lead in establishing diplomatic relations with Central Asian countries 30 years ago for bilateral exchanges and cooperation and the benefits of the Belt and Road Initiative with mutual security interests, peace, and stability in the region.
Xi Jinping made the following five proposals:
- First, to magnify the exemplary role of good-neighborly friendship.
- Secondly to build a cooperation belt for high-quality development.
- Thirdly to strengthen the shield for defending peace.
- Fourthly to build a framework of people-to-people exchanges in different fields like culture, heritage, tourism, women, think tanks, media, etc.
- Fifthly to protect the global village with peace and development through Global Development Initiative and advance the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
The President announced that the Chinese government will provide grant assistance of 500 million US dollars in the next three years, to Central Asian countries to support livelihood programs, train professionals in the health, poverty reduction for agricultural development, connectivity, information technology, and other fields.
The Central Asian countries’ Heads of states’ thanked China to chair this historic virtual summit. They appreciated China’s achievements in regional and world peace and development, in the relations between Central Asian countries and China for 30 years, support for the vaccines, anti-pandemic supplies and to fight against the COVID-19.
They agreed with President Xi Jinping’s proposals on future relations between China and Central Asian countries and to firmly support each other. They expressed their interest to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games in China next week and wished the Beijing Olympic Winter Games a success, and a happy Spring Festival.
The summit released the Joint Statement between Leaders of China and the Five Central Asian Countries. Ding Xuexiang, Yang Jiechi, Wang Yi, He Lifeng, and others also attended the summit.
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