CGTN: Second China-Central Asia Summit eyes a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future

BEIJING, June 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the announcement by China's Foreign Ministry that President Xi Jinping will attend the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan next week, CGTN published an article that explores the practical cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries. The article also examines how the upcoming summit will contribute to building a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana from June 16 to 18 at the invitation of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

The upcoming summit would present a new opportunity for China and the five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – to deepen strategic trust, enhance practical cooperation and jointly contribute stability and positive momentum to a world fraught with uncertainty, Cui Zheng, director of the Research Center for Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asian Countries at Liaoning University, told CGTN.

"It will further strengthen the China-Central Asia mechanism, drive more new outcomes in China-Central Asia cooperation and open a new chapter in the building of a China-Central Asia community with a shared future," Cui said.

On January 25, 2022, China and the five Central Asian countries jointly announced building a China-Central Asia community with a shared future. During the first China-Central Asia Summit in 2023, Xi outlined a clear road map for building a closer community, anchored in four key principles: mutual assistance, common development, universal security and everlasting friendship.

Since then, the momentum generated by the first high-level gathering has translated into tangible progress. All six nations are now looking forward to consolidating these achievements and exploring new pathways for deeper regional cooperation.

From strategic consensus to practical cooperation

The inaugural China-Central Asia Summit in May 2023 was a landmark event, marking the institutionalization of a multilateral mechanism that prioritizes peace, development and mutual respect. One of the summit's most significant outcomes was the signing of the Xi'an Declaration, where the six countries pledged to build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

Since then, concrete cooperation projects have been launched in various fields, turning the outcomes of the Xi'an Summit into reality.

For example, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, long under discussion, has officially entered the construction preparation phase. When completed, it will significantly reduce logistics costs and time, boosting trade efficiency across the region. The railway is expected to connect the Asia-Pacific region with Europe, offering a new solution for trans-Eurasian transportation.

The railway serves as a vivid example of China-Central Asia practical cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which continues to yield high-quality and tangible outcomes – from connectivity and capacity cooperation to clean energy and infrastructure.

In Kazakhstan, the China-Kazakhstan crude oil and natural gas pipelines and the Shymkent Oil Refinery are operating steadily. In Uzbekistan, the 1,500 MW gas-fired power plant project in the Syrdarya region has been commissioned, and the Olympic City project is progressing smoothly. In Tajikistan, cooperative projects including government buildings, parliament offices and key sections of Phase II of the China-Tajikistan highway are being actively implemented. According to China National Petroleum Corporation, as of March 2025, the cumulative natural gas trade volume between Turkmenistan and China, flowing through the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, reached 430 billion cubic meters – equivalent to China's entire annual gas consumption.

According to China's Ministry of Commerce, trade between China and the five Central Asian countries exceeded $94.8 billion in 2024, marking a $5.4 billion increase from 2023. Chinese investment in Central Asia has continued to expand, especially in green energy and agricultural processing sectors.

Noting that Central Asia is both the "birthplace" and a key demonstration area for the BRI, Professor Cui emphasized that the new summit will further promote high-quality regional cooperation, with rapid advancements in trade and investment.

The upcoming summit will not only be a window to showcase the achievements of multilateral cooperation but also provide a new model for South-South cooperation, he added.