On June 16, President Xi Jinping arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan, to attend the second China-Central Asia Summit.
What is the important background of President Xi’s trip to Central Asia?What are the highlights and details worth paying attention to on the first day of the trip?News Eye on Current Affairs will explain them for you.
Xi talks with Kazakhstan President Tokayev
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Welcoming old friends from China with the highest courtesy
On the 16th, after the special plane on which President Xi Jinping was traveling entered Kazakhstan’s airspace, fighter jets of the Kazakhstan Air Force rose to escort it.
In the midst of his busy schedule of preparing for the China-Central Asia Summit, President Tokayev led senior officials to the airport to warmly greet him.
The blue welcome carpet is spread from the caliber of the gangway to the VIP building.In the hearts of Kazakhstanis, the color blue signifies eternity and harmony, and also conveys the good wishes for deepening friendship and partnership.The military contingent, the enthusiastic children and young people, and the helicopters flying the national flags of China and Kazakhstan carry the warmth of the occasion and convey the warmth of the occasion.
Kazakhstan Air Force fighter jets lift off to escort
Separation of honor guards
This is not the first time President Tokayev has greeted President Xi at the airport.
In September 2022, President Xi came to Kazakhstan as the first stop on his first visit after the Xinguan epidemic.President Tokaev greeted President Xi at the airport in Chinese: “Welcome to Kazakhstan!”
In July 2024, President Tokayev took time out of his busy schedule of preparing for the SCO summit to personally greet President Xi at the airport.
President Tokayev personally greeted President Xi at the airport.
Inside the VIP building of the airport, the two heads of state enjoyed the Chinese poetry recitation by Kazakhstani children and teenagers, dances in the fusion of Chinese and Kazakh styles and other cultural performances.
“Sino-Kazakh friendship is heart to heart, the Silk Road is always bright.You help me and I help you, peace and happiness will never stop.”The bright children’s voices speak of the people’s desire for the friendship between China and Kazakhstan for generations, and the bright hope for the future hand in hand.
One cannot help but recall that in July last year, in anticipation of President Xi’s visit to Kazakhstan, the Kazakh side for the first time arranged for Kazakh teenagers to sing “Singing the Motherland” in Chinese.The children also expressed to President Xi their dream of studying at Tsinghua University.
The highest courtesy and warm arrangement, the details show the high level and special nature of the relationship between China and Kazakhstan.
The Heads of State of China and Kazakhstan jointly enjoyed the cultural performance of children and youth of Kazakhstan
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Another visit to Central Asia at an important point
This is President Xi Jinping’s ninth visit to Central Asia and sixth to Kazakhstan.Several important backgrounds are worth noting.
This visit is a major diplomatic initiative of our country towards Central Asia after the Central Neighborhood Work Conference.
The Central Peripheral Work Conference held in April this year emphasized the need to focus on building a community of destiny in the periphery and to strive to create a new situation for work in the periphery.President Xi’s three trips so far this year have been anchored in the periphery.
What is the importance of Central Asia in China’s neighboring diplomatic map?
Central Asia is the first place where the “One Belt, One Road” initiative was launched, and it is the first comprehensive strategic partnership cluster in China’s neighborhood.For the first time, the concept of a community of destiny has been fully realized at the multilateral and bilateral levels in Central Asia.Today, China and the Central Asian countries are creating an advanced demonstration zone for a comprehensive strategic partnership cluster, an advanced demonstration zone for the joint construction of the Belt and Road, and an advanced demonstration zone for the joint construction of a community of shared destiny for mankind.In 2024, the trade volume between China and the Central Asian countries amounted to a record $94.8 billion.
It will be interesting to see how President Xi’s trip to Central Asia promotes China’s relations with Central Asia to a new level.
Independence Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan, where the 2nd China-Central Asia Summit was held
This year coincides with the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the China-Central Asia Mechanism.
In 2020, in response to changes in the regional situation and the demands for cooperation, China and the Central Asian countries established a pioneering China-Central Asia foreign ministers’ meeting mechanism, and in January 2022, President Xi and the heads of state of the five Central Asian countries held a video summit on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Central Asia, at which all sides proposed to upgrade the China-Central Asia mechanism to the level of heads of state. 2023, the first China-Central Asia Summit was successfully held in Xi’an.In May 2023, the first China-Central Asia Summit was successfully held in Xi’an, and the China-Central Asia mechanism was formally upgraded and finalized.
Over the past five years, the China-Central Asia mechanism has grown from strength to strength, becoming a new platform for multilateral cooperation in a century of change.President Xi has pointed out that “we are not targeting a third party, and the mechanism was set up to better promote cooperation and build a closer community of destiny between the two sides, and we should keep this in mind at all times.””The mechanism should be pragmatic and efficient, and we should work together to make it bigger and stronger.”
Standing at the critical point of carrying forward and starting up, the second China-Central Asia Summit will make a top-level design for the development of China-Central Asia relations in the next stage, and inject new impetus into the enlargement and strengthening of China-Central Asia mechanism.
Astana, capital of Kazakhstan
This is the first time that the China-Central Asia Summit has been held in a Central Asian country.
Two years ago, during the first China-Central Asia Summit, it was agreed that the Summit would be held every two years, with China on one side and the Central Asian countries on the other in alphabetical order of their names, with both sides taking turns in organizing the event.
From Xi’an, the ancient city of the Silk Road, to Astana, the city of the future, Kazakhstan has taken over the baton of hosting the Summit, reflecting the common will of China and the Central Asian countries to go in both directions and work closely together.
The flags of China and Kazakhstan fly in the wind
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Promoting all-round cooperation between China and Kazakhstan
The first item on President Xi Jinping’s agenda upon his arrival in Astana was a meeting with President Tokayev at the Astana Presidential Palace on the afternoon of 16th local time.
This is the 7th face-to-face meeting between President Xi and President Tokayev.Under the strategic guidance of the heads of State of the two countries, China-Kazakhstan relations have realized a leap from comprehensive strategic partnership to permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, and have reached a vision of building a China-Kazakhstan community of destiny that is characterized by generational friendship, a high degree of mutual trust and solidarity, which has set an exemplary model for State-to-State exchanges.
Today, China-Kazakhstan relations have begun a new “golden 30 years”.The meeting between the two heads of state has set a clear direction and focus for the next stage of cooperation.It can be interpreted in three ways.
presidential palace
A firm position.In July last year, during his visit to Kazakhstan, President Xi said that China’s will and determination to maintain and develop China-Kazakhstan relations were unwavering and would not be altered by the vagaries of the times or international winds and clouds.
During the talks on the 16th, President Xi once again emphasized this firm position, pointing out that China has always viewed and developed China-Kazakhstan relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and is willing to work with the Kazakh side to unswervingly consolidate China-Kazakhstan friendship, and with the stability and positive energy of the China-Kazakhstan relations to make more contributions to regional and even world peace and development.
Group photo of Chinese and Kazakh heads of state in the Presidential Palace
A program of cooperation.President Xi stressed that China and Kazakhstan are at a critical stage of their respective development and revitalization, and the two countries should make concerted efforts to promote all-round cooperation.He put forward a four-point initiative: first, to lead the development of bilateral relations with a high level of strategic mutual trust; second, to promote the quality and upgrading of cooperation between the two countries with the high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road”; third, to safeguard the peace and tranquility of the two countries with the all-around security cooperation; and fourth, to strengthen the foundation of the China-Kazakhstan friendship with diversified humanistic exchanges.
Electronic screens on the streets of Astana display giant posters welcoming President Xi’s visit
A shared responsibility.In the face of the current chaotic international situation, President Xi has pointed out that China and Kazakhstan should firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, practise genuine multilateralism, and unequivocally protect the common interests of the vast number of developing countries.
President Tokayev highly values and actively supports China’s efforts to uphold international justice, and is ready to continue to work closely and support each other in multilateral mechanisms to promote the development of the international order in a more just and rational direction.
This year, China and Kazakhstan will host the SCO Summit and the China-Central Asia Summit, respectively.President Xi said that China highly values Kazakhstan’s extensive preparations for the second China-Central Asia Summit and believes that this meeting will write a new chapter in China’s cooperation with Central Asia.At the same time, as the rotating chair of the SCO, China is ready to work with member States to take this year’s Tianjin summit as an opportunity to make the organization stronger and more practical, and to show new development, new breakthroughs and new signs.
Astana, capital of Kazakhstan
Two years ago, President Xi Jinping and the heads of the five Central Asian countries planted six pomegranate trees in Xi’an with good expectations, promising to meet again in Kazakhstan in 2025.
Now, it’s time for the pomegranate blossom to bloom again, and the second China-Central Asia Summit is coming up as scheduled.How the summit will write a new chapter in China’s cooperation with Central Asia and inject valuable certainty into a turbulent and changing world is something that News Eye on Current Affairs will continue to follow for you.
Article source: CCTV
