Over the past 30 years, China-Central Asia relations have achieved leapfrog development and risen to the level of strategic partnership. This has not only boosted the respective development and prosperity of all parties, but also effectively safeguarded regional peace and stability, setting an example for a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Central Asian countries, friendly relations across all fields have enjoyed substantial progress. Today, relations between China and the five Central Asian countries have entered a new era.
Through peaceful negotiations, China and Central Asian countries have completely resolved the boundary issues left over by history, turning the more than 3,300 kilometers of shared borders between China and its Central Asian neighbors into borders of friendship and cooperation, and setting an example for the peaceful settlement of territorial issues among states. The two sides have maintained regular high-level exchanges, giving full play to their important role and strengthening top-level design and overall planning for the development of bilateral relations. They have expanded bilateral and multilateral dialogue and exchanges at all levels, and fully leveraged the role of intergovernmental cooperation committees, the China + Five Central Asian Countries Foreign Ministers’ Meeting mechanism and other cooperation frameworks. The two sides firmly support each other’s national interests, as well as the development paths, governance models and initiatives each has chosen.
In recent years, mutual trade and investment between China and the five Central Asian countries have achieved rapid and steady growth, injecting strong impetus into the economic and social development of the six countries. All parties have actively promoted the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with their respective national development strategies and carried out efficient cooperation. A large number of mutually beneficial cooperation projects have been successfully completed, including the China-Kazakhstan Crude Oil Pipeline, China-Central Asia Natural Gas Pipeline, China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Highway, China-Uzbekistan Pengsheng Industrial Park and China-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan Highway, delivering extensive benefits to peoples across the region.
China and the five Central Asian countries have comprehensively deepened cooperation to safeguard regional peace, stability and security. Their cooperation in combating the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism, opposing external interference and jointly maintaining regional peace and stability has yielded fruitful results. They have implemented the global security vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security in an orderly manner. All parties strongly condemn terrorism, separatism and extremism in all forms, and have jointly and effectively fought against activities such as the three forces, drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, and jointly responded to threats in the field of information security. All sides have reached a consensus that safeguarding national security and constitutional systems is of great significance, and firmly oppose efforts to subvert legitimate governments and instigate color revolutions. The parties have decided to strengthen global biosecurity governance, advance international cooperation and improve international norms on biosecurity.
Upholding the principles of openness, mutual benefit and respect for each other’s interests, China and the five Central Asian countries have advanced all-round practical cooperation. All sides stand ready to deepen the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategies of the five Central Asian countries, improve the facilitation of trade and investment, expand the scale of mutual investment and trade, deepen cooperation in production capacity, energy, agriculture, digital economy and other fields, and ensure the smooth progress of key cooperation projects. Aligning with international standards, they will build an all-dimensional, multi-functional, eco-friendly and sustainable transport infrastructure system, take effective measures to guarantee smooth cargo transit, maintain stable and unimpeded industrial and supply chains, and consolidate Central Asia’s important position as a transport hub on the Eurasian continent. They will actively promote China-Central Asia railway container transport, expand cooperation in new energy, digital finance, artificial intelligence, poverty reduction and other fields, and implement the Belt and Road Green Development Partnership Initiative. Upholding the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, the two sides will jointly address climate change, strengthen ecological and biodiversity conservation, apply the new development philosophy of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, and jointly build the Digital Silk Road and Green Silk Road. They will strengthen e-commerce cooperation, establish the China-Central Asia E-Commerce Cooperation and Dialogue Mechanism, and develop Silk Road E-commerce. They will accelerate the connectivity of digital infrastructure and expand cooperation in the digital economy, innovation and green technologies. They will also expand exchanges between local governments, academia, culture, tourism, media, think tanks, youth groups and sports circles.
China and the five Central Asian countries both hold that the norms of international law are paramount. They stress abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and conducting high-level cooperation within the UN framework. All parties are ready to jointly tackle global and regional challenges, firmly uphold world peace, stability and development, resolutely defend multilateralism and universally recognized norms of international law, safeguard international fairness and justice, and advance the international order and global governance system toward a more just and reasonable direction. They will strengthen dialogue and cooperation within multilateral mechanisms including the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), and the China + Five Central Asian Countries framework, and formulate common positions on responding to global and regional challenges. They will firmly safeguard the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core and raise the voice of developing countries in the formulation of international economic and trade rules.
The two sides also share important consensus on the Afghanistan issue: the early settlement of the Afghanistan issue is one of the key factors for maintaining security and stability in the region. They respect Afghanistan’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and support the Afghan people in independently deciding the future of their country. China and Central Asian countries stand ready to continue helping Afghanistan restore domestic peace and stability, avert humanitarian disasters, play a constructive role in advancing Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction, expand cooperation and integrate Afghanistan into the regional economic system.
On January 25, 2022, marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Central Asian countries, the two sides issued the Joint Statement of the Leaders of China and the Five Central Asian Countries on the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, which declared: “Relations between China and the five Central Asian countries have entered a new era.” The six countries are determined to continue to jointly build a strategic partnership with rich connotations, fruitful outcomes and enduring friendship on the basis of accommodating each other’s interests, and forge a China-Central Asia community with a shared future.
In May 2023, the China-Central Asia Summit was held in the ancient Chinese city of Xi’an, marking the birth of the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism led by the summit. This constitutes a milestone event in bilateral relations.
Central Asia is the birthplace of the Belt and Road Initiative. In September 2013, during his visit to Central Asia, President Xi Jinping of China put forward the initiative to build the Silk Road Economic Belt in Kazakhstan. As the first stop of the overland Silk Road adjacent to northwest China, Central Asia carries special significance for the smooth advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Central Asian countries stand at the forefront of the westward expansion of the Silk Road Economic Belt. From the very beginning of the Belt and Road Initiative, Central Asian countries responded positively. Based on their respective economic features, resource endowments and geographical advantages, the five Central Asian countries formulated strategies for alignment. Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and guided by strategic alignment, China and Central Asian countries have forged close cooperation in energy, infrastructure, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, finance and trade, science, technology and culture, yielding a series of fruitful results.
Among them, Kazakhstan was one of the earliest countries to explicitly express its willingness to jointly advance the Belt and Road Initiative with China. The alignment between Kazakhstan’s Nurly Zhol (Bright Road) new economic policy and its Kazakhstan 2030 development strategy with China’s Belt and Road Initiative has made smooth progress.
On October 17, 2016, the two governments jointly released the Plan for Alignment and Cooperation between the Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and Kazakhstan’s Nurly Zhol New Economic Policy.
Since then, China and Kazakhstan have continuously improved infrastructure connectivity, promoted investment and trade, deepened in-depth cooperation in transportation, industry, agriculture, energy, emerging industries, finance and intellectual property rights, fully leveraged the strengths and potential of both sides, continuously expanded the space for win-win development and promoted common prosperity.
At present, there are 11 international transport routes passing through Kazakhstan, including six cross-border highway routes such as the 2,700-kilometer Western Europe-Western China Highway, and five cross-border railway routes leading to the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia. These routes have turned Kazakhstan into a cross-border transport hub.
In particular, after the launch of China-Europe Railway Express services, Kazakhstan has become a transit country for cargo bound for Europe, greatly shortening freight transit time. It only takes 6 to 13 days to reach Europe. This represents Kazakhstan’s important contribution to the global economy and demonstrates its potential in global transportation.
At present, the Government of Uzbekistan has integrated the priorities of its economic work with China-Uzbekistan Belt and Road cooperation. On the basis of consolidating existing cooperation outcomes, it has further expanded the areas of China-Uzbekistan Belt and Road cooperation. The two sides have achieved fruitful results in Belt and Road cooperation, with major projects moving forward in an orderly manner. All four pipelines of the China-Central Asia Natural Gas Pipeline pass through Uzbekistan. The Angren–Pap Railway Tunnel (Qamchiq Tunnel), the longest tunnel in Central Asia, has been successfully breakthrough. The transport capacity potential of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Highway and China-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan Railway is continuously unlocked. Positive progress has been made in the preparatory work for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway project. Uzbekistan is transforming from a landlocked country into a land-linked country.
The two sides have also actively carried out cooperation in new energy, agriculture, finance, modern communications and other fields. For instance, SEPCO III, a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Corporation, undertook the 100 MW Navoi photovoltaic power plant project under Uzbekistan’s new energy plan. A large batch of photovoltaic project equipment was shipped to Uzbekistan aboard the Qilu train. The Uzbekistan Pengsheng Industrial Park, invested and built by Jinsheng Trading Co., Ltd. from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, has contributed to local employment.
Meanwhile, the alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and the New Uzbekistan: 2022–2026 Development Strategy has effectively boosted the development of bilateral relations. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that Belt and Road cooperation helps Uzbekistan achieve its poverty reduction goals.
In other Central Asian countries including Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, the alignment work of the Belt and Road Initiative is also advancing as scheduled. The alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and Kyrgyzstan’s National Development Strategy for 2018–2040, Tajikistan’s National Development Strategy to 2030, and Turkmenistan’s “Revival of the Silk Road” development strategy has spawned a host of cooperation projects that serve bilateral interests, advance economic and social development, help optimize economic structures and carry the features of the new era.
For example, the cottonseed and sunflower seed oil refining project in Tajikistan undertaken by China’s Jiangsu Muyang Group can create more than 100 local jobs and boost the development of Tajikistan’s domestic consumer market. In 2021, China completed the first dam deformation monitoring system based on the BeiDou-3 Global Navigation Satellite System at the Sarez Lake Dam in Tajikistan. This marks the first BeiDou monitoring system built at the world’s highest barrier lake and signals important progress in China-Tajikistan cooperation on international application projects. The opening of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Highway and breakthrough progress in the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway have greatly improved regional infrastructure and exerted a profound impact on the regional economy.
In summary, after years of efforts, the alignment and cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and Central Asian countries has entered a harvest period for projects. A large number of projects jointly built by China and Central Asian countries have been put into operation, bringing substantial benefits to local communities. These tangible achievements also prove that the prospects for jointly building the Belt and Road between China and Central Asian countries are broad.
