CHINESE President Xi Jinping convened the leaders of 5 Central Asian countries as world leaders flocked to Japan for the G7 Summit.
Xi met with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan for a 2-day summit in the Chinese City of Xi’an held from May 18 to 19.
In a round-table meeting on Friday, the Chinese president unveiled a grand plan for Central Asia’s development, from building infrastructure to boosting trade to taking on a new leadership role.
The landmark summit is the first of its kind since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and each of the 5 Central Asian states 31 years ago.
It is also the first major diplomatic event China has hosted this year.
Its primary purpose is to secure greater political and economic partnerships between China and its Central Asian neighbors.
As the 6 Asian countries gathered in Central China, world leaders on the other hand traveled to Japan to join the 3-day G7 summit in Hiroshima Prefecture scheduled on May 19 to 21.
US President Joe Biden arrived in Japan on Thursday and met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the eve of the summit.
While Xi delivers a speech in front of his Central Asian counterparts, the G7 leaders on the same day gathered themselves and vowed to tighten punishments on Russia as the invasion of Ukraine entered its 15th month.
Chinese mouthpiece Global Times said the 2 summits are totally in contrast with each other as the G7 speaks the language of an outmoded Cold War mentality while the China-Central Asia Summit promotes cooperation and inclusiveness.
Prior to the historic summit, China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs visited Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wherein both sides exchanged views on ending the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
