BEJING, June 17 (KUNA) -- China and five Central Asian countries signed Tuesday a treaty of permanent good neighborliness and friendly cooperation in a move aimed at enhancing the partnership between the two sides and advancing a closer Chinese-Central Asian community with a shared future.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the signing ceremony took place in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his counterparts, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, during the second China-Central Asia Summit held at the Independence Palace in Astana.
The six leaders announced the signing of 12 cooperation documents in areas including the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, facilitating the exchange of experiences, green minerals, promoting trade, infrastructure connectivity, industry, and customs, as well as several agreements on sister city partnerships between the two sides, bringing the total to over 100 sister city ties.
During their participation in the unveiling ceremony of three cooperation centers for poverty reduction, educational exchanges, combating desertification, and a platform to facilitate trade cooperation, President Xi emphasized China's support for Central Asia in implementing livelihood and development projects, pledging to offer 3,000 training opportunities over the next two years.
Xi Jinping, in a speech at the summit, reaffirmed the importance of mutual respect, trust, benefit, and assistance, as well as the pursuit of common modernization driven by high-quality development, while avoiding any actions that would harm each other's core interests.
He pointed out that global peace and shared development could only be maintained by adhering to justice, fairness, win-win cooperation, and mutual benefit in a world going through a phase of new turmoil and changes.
He also emphasized that there are no winners in trade wars, and that unilateralism, protectionism, and hegemony are doomed to harm both themselves and others. He stressed that history must move forward, not backward, the world must unite rather than divide, and humanity must build a community with a shared future rather than return to the law of the jungle.
Xi called for opposition to hegemony and power politics, advocating for the establishment of a multipolar, organized, and equal world. He also emphasized the importance of promoting inclusive global economic globalization and maintaining the United Nations-centered international system to inject more stability and certainty into global peace and development.
He highlighted the need to strengthen security governance, continue deepening cooperation in law enforcement, and combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism, and separatism, to maintain regional peace and stability. He expressed China's readiness to provide assistance to Central Asia in combating transnational organized crime, protecting cybersecurity, and biological security.
For their part, the leaders of the five Central Asian countries noted during the summit that China is a strategic partner and a true, reliable friend to their countries. They reaffirmed their support for free trade and emphasized their desire to deepen cooperation with China based on mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit in fields such as agriculture, science and technology, new energy, education, tourism, and culture, with the aim of making the China-Central Asia mechanism a model for regional cooperation.
The attending leaders issued a final statement confirming their support for the accession of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the World Trade Organization. They also expressed readiness to work with the international community to help Afghanistan maintain peace and stability, rebuild its infrastructure, integrate into the regional and global economic system, and transform into a secure, prosperous country free from the threats of terrorism and drugs. (end) slq.onm