Central Asia ties in focus on Kyrgyzstan trip

Cooperation, multilateralism high on agenda of foreign minister’s visit

Mutual respect for each other’s core interests and sustained pragmatic cooperation have brought China’s relations with its Central Asian neighbors to a new level of maturity, as reflected in Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s latest visit to Kyrgyzstan, observers said.

Wang attended the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member States in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, on Friday and also held bilateral talks with leaders from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

According to China’s Foreign Ministry, the discussions focused on strengthening coordination on multilateral platforms and promoting the development of the SCO and the China-Central Asia mechanism.

Kyrgyzstan was recently elected as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and it is set to host the SCO Bishkek Summit later this year.

Kyrgyzstan has joined the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, which was founded earlier this month in Shanghai, as well as the International Organization for Mediation.

During his meeting with Wang on Friday, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said that his country is demonstrating through concrete actions its support for the four global initiatives proposed by China — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative.

Kyrgyzstan is willing to further strengthen communication and coordination with China within multilateral frameworks, including the UN and the China-Central Asia mechanism, to jointly promote regional and global peace and development, Japarov added.

Wang said that China will, as always, firmly support Kyrgyzstan’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He also expressed China’s readiness to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Kyrgyzstan on UN affairs and to support Kyrgyzstan in successfully hosting the SCO Bishkek Summit.

Liu Shiguo, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of World Economics and Politics, said that Wang’s visit was a journey of friendship, cooperation and peace, adding that “China has always been a trustworthy neighbor, partner and friend to the Central Asian countries”.

The Central Asian region is one of the core areas for jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, and China and Kyrgyzstan “have significant potential for cooperation in emerging fields such as AI-powered social governance, smart agriculture and cross-border data governance”, Liu told China Youth Daily.

During his meeting with Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov on Thursday, Wang said that China is ready to work with Uzbekistan to promote the high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, a major BRI project, and to create more landmark projects in new industrialization.

Saidov said that Uzbekistan opposes any actions undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that his country is pleased to join the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization.

Sirojiddin Rahmonov, a senior specialist at the Center for the Study of Transport and Logistics Development Problems under Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport, said that continued improvements in cross-border infrastructure can help build a robust safeguard against a relapse into poverty.

Uzbekistan will continue to deepen pragmatic and multilateral cooperation with China in areas such as connectivity, trade and investment, and advance regional integration, Rahmonov said at a seminar held this month in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon paid a successful visit to China in May. The most important outcome of his visit was the signing of the China-Tajikistan Treaty on Permanent Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, which “set a precedent in Central Asia”, Wang said during a meeting on Friday with Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin.

Muhriddin said that his country is confident about the prospects of bilateral cooperation and is ready to strengthen practical cooperation in areas including energy.

China Daily