Chinese government officials and experts say the country will strengthen economic and trade cooperation with the five Central Asian countries and the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and further exploit the potential for complementarity in trade and the economy, especially in areas such as energy and green development.

The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China is ready to join forces with economic and trade partners in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to develop trade and economic cooperation, said Minister Wang Wentao.

He made the announcement at the China-Central Asia Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries, official Chinese media reported.

“Over the past three decades, China and the five countries of Central Asia have deepened pragmatic cooperation in the field of economy and trade. We have established comprehensive, vigorous and mutually beneficial trade and economic ties,” Wang said.

During the forum, the China-Central Asia Trade and Economic Cooperation Initiative on Quality Sustainable Development was unveiled in areas such as trade, investment, digital economy and energy, petrochemical processing, green development, and carbon emission control.

China's outbound direct investment in the five countries has exceeded $14 billion, he said, and many large-scale industrial upgrading projects have been implemented.

Aggregate trade between China and the five CA countries rose 25% year on year to $44.6 billion in 11M 2021.

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