Chinese, Central Asian foreign ministers to meet ahead of leaders' summit

China's foreign minister will host his counterparts from five Central Asian countries on Thursday to prepare for a leaders' summit next month.

Qin Gang will chair the fourth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Xian, in the northwestern province of Shaanxi. The ministers will discuss arrangements for the first China plus Central Asian countries (C+C5) heads of state summit, according to the foreign ministry.

"The six parties will exchange views on various arrangements for the summit, China-Central Asia cooperation in various fields and international and regional issues of common concern," ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters on Tuesday.

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The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan (Murat Nurtleu), Kyrgyzstan (Kulubaev Zheenbek Moldokanovich) and Tajikistan (Sirojiddin Muhriddin) as well as the acting foreign minister of Uzbekistan (Bakhtiyor Saidov) and Turkmenistan's first deputy minister of foreign affairs (Vepa Hajiyev) would travel to China for the meeting, she said.

The summit - which was agreed to during the third meeting of the six countries' foreign ministers in Kazakhstan in June - is widely regarded as a Beijing-led effort to boost strategic coordination with Central Asia over issues such as the Ukraine war and the crisis in Afghanistan.

The foreign ministers' talks follow the first China-Central Asia Meeting of the Ministers of Economy and Trade on April 18. All sides agreed to "strengthen cooperation on trade and investment, digital economy, green development, transit transport and other fields, and jointly promote regional economic cooperation", according to a readout from the Chinese commerce ministry.

The summit comes as China doubles down on its Belt and Road Initiative to fill an economic vacuum left by Russia after Western sanctions. Launched in 2013, the trillion-dollar infrastructure plan aims to link dozens of economies in Asia, Europe and Africa into a China-centred trading network. Beijing plans to mark its 10th anniversary with a forum in autumn.

Historically, Central Asia has played an important role in connecting China and Europe. The five countries sit along the vibrant Silk Road that dates back to China's Han dynasty 2,200 years ago and ran from Xian to Rome.

The Central Asian nations have become increasingly significant - both economically and strategically - for China thanks to their rich natural resources and proximity to its far-western region of Xinjiang.

China has made huge investments in the five countries, especially in transport and infrastructure projects via the belt and road programme.

In 2022, trade between China and the Central Asian countries reached US$70.2 billion, a record high. China's foreign direct investment in the five countries was nearly US$15 billion at the end of 2022, according to the commerce ministry.

Beijing is also seeking cooperation from the Central Asian countries to help tackle separatism and terrorism in Xinjiang, a region that borders Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and shares common religious and ethnic groups with some populations in those countries.

This month, China released a position paper on the Afghan issue as the foreign minister visited Central Asia. Three of the 11 points listed in the paper referred to counterterrorism and the paper highlighted the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a Uygur separatist group that Beijing partly blames for ethnic tensions in Xinjiang.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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