Latest news with #China-CentralAsiaSummit
Newsweek
a day ago
- Business
- Newsweek
China Goes on Diplomatic Offensive as Israel-Iran War Distracts America
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. As Israel and Iran exchanged missile fire on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Central Asian countries to deepen cooperation under China's "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative—marking the latest step in what analysts call Beijing's diplomatic offensive—and highlighted in a recent podcast by the China-Global South Project (CGSP). Newsweek reached out to the Chinese embassy via email with a request for comment. Why It Matters China's global influence continues to expand, particularly in the developing world—often at the expense of the United States. This trend has accelerated under U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration, which has withdrawn from a range of traditional U.S. leadership initiatives and soft power programs, including the World Health Organization, USAID and PEPFAR. What To Know The summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, saw Xi announce a dozen cooperation agreements spanning green mining, trade, connectivity, personnel exchanges and customs, according to Chinese state media. The previous week, China secured $11.4 billion in deals during the fourth China-Africa trade expo, hosted by the foreign minister in Changsha, Hunan Province. The two powers are "going in very divergent directions," said Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of CGSP. The podcast discussion turned to China's vocal support for Iran, as Xi spoke out Tuesday to rebuke Israel for sparking the conflict with its surprise attack last week. Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo during their meeting on the sidelines of the China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on June 17. Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo during their meeting on the sidelines of the China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on June 17. Uzbekistan's Presidential Press Service via AP "This conflict—China came out very quickly and did not pretend to try and be a neutral arbiter, did not pretend to be kind of nonpartisan at all," Olander said. "They came out very quickly, backed Iran in this, framed the Israelis as the aggressor, and then also positioned the United States as manipulating all of this, which is par for the course in a lot of these types of incidents." CGSP Managing Editor Cobus van Staden added, "So not only in the diplomatic realm where China is coming out so strongly in favor of Iran, but also there are very steep economic consequences for the Chinese." Iran received diplomatic support from China—a longtime strategic partner and major export market—during previous, smaller exchanges of missile fire with Israel in April and October last year. The latest crisis began Friday with Israel's surprise strikes on a range of Iranian targets, including nuclear facilities, missile batteries, senior military leaders and nuclear scientists. Iran responded with retaliatory missile and drone attacks. What's Next The U.S. response remains uncertain. Trump has signaled that the U.S. will be involved in Israel's bombing raids against Iran in some capacity, demanding Tehran's "unconditional surrender" in a Truth Social post earlier this week. It remains to be seen whether Washington will order direct military action or limit its role to support.
Borneo Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Borneo Post
Xi leaves Astana after attending 2nd China-Central Asia Summit
Xi Jinping leaves for Beijing after attending the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 18, 2025. – AFP photo ASTANA (June 18): Chinese President Xi Jinping left Wednesday for Beijing after attending the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana. Upon Xi's departure, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and other senior officials saw him off at the airport. Kazakh Air Force fighter jets escorted Xi's plane after it took off. Xi Jinping leaves for Beijing after attending the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 18, 2025. – AFP photo On the way to the airport, representatives of Chinese enterprises and Chinese overseas students lined the streets, waving the national flags of China and Kazakhstan to warmly congratulate Xi on his successful attendance at the summit. Xi leaves for Beijing after attending the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 18, 2025. – Xinhua photo Xi leaves for Beijing after attending the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 18, 2025. – Xinhua photo Xi leaves for Beijing after attending the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 18, 2025. – Xinhua photo Kazakh Air Force fighter jets escorted Xi's plane after it took off. – Xinhua photo Xi leaves for Beijing after attending the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 18, 2025. – Xinhua photo Astana China-Central Asia Summit Kazakh Xi Jinping
Barnama
2 days ago
- Business
- Barnama
CGTN: China, Central Asia Seal Landmark Treaty At Astana Summit
KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 (Bernama) -- China Global Television Network (CGTN) has reported that the second China-Central Asia Summit, held recently in Astana, Kazakhstan, marked a significant step in strengthening ties between China and the five Central Asian nations. According to CGTN in a statement, the event was notable for being the first summit of its kind hosted in a Central Asian country. A key outcome of the summit was the signing of the Treaty of Permanent Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, a landmark agreement aimed at codifying lasting friendship and mutual support among the six participating nations — China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his keynote address, described the treaty as both "a milestone for today and a foundation for tomorrow." CGTN emphasised the importance of what Xi termed the "China-Central Asia Spirit", which promotes mutual respect, trust, benefit, and assistance in pursuit of shared modernisation goals. The summit also reaffirmed the biennial format of the China-Central Asia mechanism, first launched at the inaugural summit in Xi'an in 2023. According to a CGTN poll, 90 per cent of respondents believe the mechanism focuses not on competition but on long-term stability, development, and cooperation. The report also noted that China has established comprehensive strategic partnerships and signed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation documents with all five Central Asian nations. The summit reinforced the role of the BRI in driving economic collaboration. Xi called for enhanced practical cooperation in areas such as trade, connectivity, agriculture, and green mining. China also pledged to establish three new cooperation centres for poverty reduction, education exchange, and desertification prevention, as well as a trade facilitation platform. The summit, CGTN concluded, reflects the deepening of high-level strategic trust and shared commitment to building a community with a shared future, underpinned by the high-quality development of the BRI.
Barnama
2 days ago
- Politics
- Barnama
CGTN: China, Central Asian Countries Sign Landmark Treaty, Vow To Boost Cooperation
BEIJING, June 18 (Bernama) -- In a historic first, the China-Central Asia Summit was hosted in a Central Asian country, as leaders of China and five Central Asian nations gathered on Tuesday in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, for the summit's second edition. In a new landmark, the six countries signed the Treaty of Permanent Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation at the summit.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Full text of keynote speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the second China-Central Asia Summit
City view of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, July 3, 2024. Image: VCG Championing the China-Central Asia Spirit For High-Quality Cooperation in the Region Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China At the Second China-Central Asia Summit Astana, June 17, 2025 Your Excellency President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, I am delighted to join you at the second China-Central Asia Summit in the beautiful city of Astana. I'd like to thank President Tokayev and the government of Kazakhstan for the gracious hospitality and thoughtful arrangement. During our meeting in Xi'an two years ago, we jointly outlined the Xi'an Vision for China-Central Asia cooperation. The six pomegranate trees we planted together are in full bloom today, auguring the vitality of the cooperation among the six nations. Two years on, China and Central Asian countries have further deepened and substantiated Belt and Road cooperation. Our trade has grown by 35 percent, and we have made important progress in industrial investment, green mining, technological innovation, and other fields of cooperation. The package of projects with Chinese financial support are well underway. While more and more Chinese new energy vehicles and photovoltaic products are entering Central Asian markets, Central Asian agricultural products, including honey, fruits, wheat and poultry, are diversifying the dinner tables of Chinese families. Two years on, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project has been officially launched. We are making steady progress in planning for the third railway link between China and Kazakhstan, in phase-II restoration of the China-Tajikistan highway, and in China-Turkmenistan energy cooperation. Freight train services are connecting more and more Chinese cities to Central Asia. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route has been upgraded and expanded. Green industries, digital economy, artificial intelligence, aviation and space are becoming new drivers of our cooperation. Cross-border e-commerce, online education, and other new business models are benefiting more and more people in China and Central Asia. Two years on, China and Central Asian countries have made progress in establishing cultural centres in each other as well as in opening branches of Chinese universities and Luban Workshops. China has made mutual visa-free arrangements with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, facilitating more than 1.2 million travels between China and Kazakhstan alone in 2024. Tourism and culture years and art festivals of Central Asian countries are very popular in China. Chinese films and TV dramas, such as Min-Ning Town and To the Wonder, have become great hits in Central Asia. The China-Central Asia train services for cultural tourism have been successfully inaugurated. And today, we will witness the number of sister cities between China and Central Asia reach the milestone of 100 pairs. Two years on, we have launched 13 ministerial cooperation platforms under the China-Central Asia mechanism. The Secretariat is fully functioning, and the core framework of the mechanism is largely in place. I am pleased to see that our consensus at the first Summit has been implemented across the board – from the millennium-old Xi'an to Astana "the pearl of the steppe," from the coast of the Yellow Sea to the shores of the Caspian Sea, from the Tianshan Mountain Range to the Pamir Plateau. The path of our cooperation is steadily widening, and our friendship is blooming ever more brightly. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, Our cooperation is rooted in more than 2,000 years of friendly exchanges, cemented by solidarity and mutual trust cultivated through more than three decades of diplomatic ties, and taken forward via openness and win-win cooperation of the new era. Building on our collective efforts over the years, we have forged a China-Central Asia Spirit of "mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit,and mutual assistance for the joint pursuit of modernization through high-quality development." — We practice mutual respect and treat each other as equals. All countries, big or small, are equal. We handle issues through consultation and make decisions by consensus. — We seek to deepen mutual trust and enhance mutual support. We firmly support each other in safeguarding independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity. We do not do anything harmful to the core interests of any party. — We pursue mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and strive for common development. We view each other as priority partners, and share development opportunities together. We accommodate each other's interests, and work to build a win-win and symbiotic relationship. — We help each other in time of need and stand together through thick and thin. We support each other in choosing development paths suitable to our respective national conditions and in taking domestic matters into our own hands. We work together to address various risks and challenges, and uphold regional security and stability. This China-Central Asia Spirit is an important guideline for our endeavor to carry forward friendship and cooperation from generation to generation. We should always uphold it and let it shine forever. Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, Today, unprecedented changes are unfolding at a faster pace across the globe, thrusting the world into a new state of heightened turbulence and volatility. A strong belief in fairness and justice and an unyielding commitment to mutual benefit and win-win cooperation are the only way to maintain world peace and achieve common development. There is no winner in tariff wars or trade wars. Unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism will surely backfire while hurting others. I always maintain that history should move forward, not backward; and the world should be united, not divided. Humanity must not regress to the law of the jungle. Instead, we should build a community with a shared future for mankind. Three years ago, we announced together that we would build a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, setting out the goal and direction of our six nations in building consensus, overcoming challenges and pursuing development. We should act on the China-Central Asia Spirit, enhance cooperation with renewed vigor and more practical measures, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and forge ahead toward our goal of a community with a shared future for the region. First, we should stay committed to our fundamental goal of unity, and always trust and support each other. China consistently takes Central Asia as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. With a firm belief in an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood as well as a strong dedication to amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China interacts with Central Asian countries on the basis of equality and sincerity. We always wish our neighbors well. Today, we will sign together a treaty on eternal good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation to enshrine the principle of everlasting friendship in the form of law. This is a new landmark in the history of the relations between our six countries and a pioneering initiative in China's diplomatic engagement with its neighbors. It is a milestone for today and a foundation for tomorrow. Second, we should optimize our cooperation framework to make it more results-oriented, more efficient, and more deeply integrated. We have agreed to designate 2025 and 2026 as the Years of High-Quality Development of China-Central Asia Cooperation. We should focus our cooperation on smooth trade, industrial investment, connectivity, green mining, agricultural modernization and personnel exchanges, and roll out more projects on the ground. We should do our best to get early harvests as soon as possible. China is ready to share with Central Asian countries development experience and latest technological advances, promote connectivity in digital infrastructure, enhance cooperation on artificial intelligence, and foster new quality productive forces. In order to promote relevant cooperation, China has decided to establish three cooperation centers, i.e. on poverty reduction, on education exchange, and on desertification prevention and control, as well as a cooperation platform on smooth trade under the China-Central Asia cooperation framework. China will provide a grant of 1.5 billion yuan to Central Asian countries this year to be used in livelihood and development projects high on their agenda. China will also provide 3,000 training opportunities to Central Asian countries in the next two years. Third, we should develop a security framework for peace, tranquility and solidarity. We should step up regional security governance, deepen law enforcement and security cooperation, jointly prevent and thwart extreme ideologies, and resolutely fight terrorism, separatism and extremism, so as to maintain peace and stability in our region. China supports Central Asian countries in modernizing their national defense, law enforcement and security capacities. We will do our best to help Central Asian countries combat terrorism and transnational organized crime and safeguard cybersecurity and biosecurity. We will launch more Safe City projects, and conduct more joint exercises and joint training cooperation. Afghanistan is our close neighbor. We should strengthen coordination to help the country boost its development capacity and achieve peace, stability, reconstruction and development at an early date. Fourth, we should cement the bonds of shared vision, mutual understanding and mutual affection between our peoples. China will enhance cooperation between legislatures, political parties, women, youth, media and think tanks with Central Asian countries, conduct in-depth exchange of governance experience, and share experience in green development, poverty reduction and anti-corruption. China is ready to set up more cultural centers, university branches and Luban Workshops in Central Asia, and launch new majors in Central Asian languages in Chinese universities. We will continue to carry out effectively the "China-Central Asia technology and skills improvement scheme" to train more high-caliber talent for Central Asian countries. China supports deepening subnational cooperation with Central Asia. We will make good use of sister-city relations and people-to-people exchanges to nurture heart-to-heart connections at central and subnational levels, between official and non-governmental actors, and from adjacent to broader areas. I hope that the travel-facilitation measures we adopt today will be implemented as soon as possible to help our people visit each other more conveniently, efficiently and frequently like relatives, and in the course help them become ever closer to each other. Fifth, we should uphold a fair and equitable international order and an equal and orderly world structure. China supports Central Asian countries in playing a bigger role in international affairs. We stand ready to work with all parties to defend international fairness and justice, oppose hegemonism and power politics, and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. In the strenuous times of war, Chinese and Central Asian peoples supported each other through adversity, and jointly made important contributions to the cause of justice of humanity. We should promote the correct view of history, defend the fruits of the victory of World War II, uphold the U.N.-centered international system, and provide more stability and certainty for world peace and development. Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, China is building a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain unwavering in opening up to the outside world, and embrace higher-quality cooperation with Central Asian countries to deepen the integration of interests and achieve common development. Distinguished Colleagues, Friends, Ancient Chinese philosophy advocates "mutual care and mutual benefit." Similarly, a Central Asian proverb compares harmony and unity to happiness and wealth. China is ready to work with all parties to carry forward the China-Central Asia Spirit, pursue the goal of a community with a shared future, and strive for new progress in China-Central Asia cooperation. Thank you.
