China-Central Asia Summit a positive move
President Xi Jinping of Communist China will host a summit at Xi’an with Presidents of five Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from Thursday to Friday.
This is the first major diplomatic event that China hosts this year and is the first ever in-person summit between the leaders of China and five Central Asian countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations 31 years ago. The heads of state will not only exchange views on bilateral, multilateral, and major international and regional issues, but are likely to sign an important political document.
It can be fully expected that this summit will further deepen the political mutual trust between China and the five Central Asian countries, and promote bilateral cooperation in various fields to a new level. Not only is it a milestone in the history of the development of relations between China and Central Asian countries. It will contribute to the peace, stability and prosperity of the region.
China and Central Asian countries have no special “innate advantages” in developing good-neighborly and friendly relations. The two sides have differences in social systems, religious cultures, etc and once faced practical constraints and challenges in their economic and security cooperation. But the two sides have successfully transcended these differences.
After all, it is the strong value resonance of a shared destiny that has allowed the two sides to embark on a new path of mutual respect, good neighbourliness, friendship, mutual assistance, mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and set a model for a new type of international relations.
In particular, in the turbulent and complex world situation, Central Asian countries have become more aware of the need to support each other in order to resist security risks and realize the modernization and development of their respective countries.
The practice since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries 31 years ago has also proved that as long as we follow the right path, we will surely reap rich fruits.
The busy China-Europe freight trains have become a landscape in Central Asia. China has also been a major trading partner of Central Asian countries for many years, and its trade volume has continuously hit record highs.
At the same time, the cooperation between the two sides in security and other fields has also been further deepened. For example, in the process of combating extremist terrorist activities, China has carried out close cooperation with law-enforcement agencies and judiciary institutions in Central Asia.
The epidemic prevention and health departments of both sides have established a cooperation platform for information sharing and joint epidemic prevention. The benefits brought by the cooperation between the two sides to these countries and people are tangible.
In recent years, the cooperation between China and Central Asian countries has been very stable, almost unaffected by geopolitical factors. The fundamental reason is that there is no geopolitical element in their cooperation.
However, some Western analysts, constrained by their narrow-minded logic, only want to view the China-Central Asia cooperation from a geopolitical perspective
Many see it as China trying its utmost to “controlling Central Asia” and “establishing a sphere of influence there,” thus using the five Central Asian countries as geopolitical tools.
The Chinese in turn accuse the West of geopolitical manipulation. West have long eyed Central Asia and considered it as a chess piece to use against China and Russia, to expand its influence in the region.
However, Central Asian countries have a deep understanding of the situation. They have respect, sincerity, and goodwill in their interactions with China, and the political mutual trust between the two sides has continued to improve.
The China-Central Asia Summit is being held with confidence and openness, without geopolitical games or zero-sum games. Cooperation between the two sides is a valuable asset for each other and the world.
