China’s President Xi Jinping will chair the first ever China-Central Asia Summit, to be held May 18-19 in Xi’an—the starting point of the ancient Silk Road. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announced May 8 that this will be the first in-person summit between the leaders of China and the five Central Asian nations since the establishment of diplomatic relations 31 years ago. It is also the first major diplomatic event in China this year. The summit will interface with intense Chinese-Russian joint activity in the region (see separate slug). Attending the Xi’an summit will be Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev; Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov; Tajik President Emomali Rahmon; Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov; and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The Belt and Road will be a driving theme of the conference. The May 8 Global Times reported, “Trade between China and the five Central Asian countries reached $70.2 billion last year, a historic high, China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said last month. In 2022, China’s imports of agricultural, energy and mineral products from these countries jumped over 50 percent, while its exports of mechanical and electronic products to them increased by 42%.”
The theme of agricultural production will be addressed. Liu Dongmeng, vice president of Xi’an Aiju Grain and Oil Industry Group, told Global Times, “We have already built a processing plant in Kazakhstan with an annual output of 300,000 tons, and we are aiming to set up two grain assembly centers in the nation this year to further expand purchasing and planting.”
