The heads of China and the five Central Asian countries reached a consensus on cooperation in many areas during the China-Central Asia summit held on May 18- 19 on Friday in the city of Xi'an in the northwest of China. It was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and President of Uzbekistan. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The final list of results includes a large set of platforms and proposals for cooperation in various fields.

The parties agreed to create a mechanism for meetings between the heads of state, as well as mechanisms at the ministerial level in priority areas for the countries, such as diplomacy, agriculture, investment, transport and customs.

It was decided to take additional measures to stimulate trade and investment between the six countries, such as updating the investment agreement between China and Central Asian countries, increasing the number of cargo flights and improving transport infrastructure.

What was agreed at the summit?

Firstly, it is the strengthening of institution-building through the creation of mechanisms of interaction at the level of specific structures.

Secondly, the expansion of trade and economic ties, including trade facilitation measures.

Thirdly, deepening interconnectedness, increasing the volume of cross-border cargo transportation and increasing the number of flights.

Fourth, the expansion of energy cooperation, including the acceleration of the construction of line D of the China-Central Asia gas pipeline.

Fifth, to promote green innovations, solve the ecological crisis of the Aral Sea, and create IT parks in Central Asia.

Sixth, the expansion of opportunities for development through science and technology, through the creation of new jobs and financial support.

Seventh, strengthening the dialogue among civilizations. We are talking about the "Cultural Silk Road" program and the development of tourism.

The eighth is the preservation of security and peace in the region and the promotion of reconstruction in Afghanistan.

China and the five Central Asian countries promised to strengthen ties in all these and other areas in a declaration signed by the heads of six states at a summit in Xi'an on Friday.

Turkmenistan's proposals

President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, speaking at the 1st China- Central Asia Summit, did not accidentally turn to the historical parallel, noting that Xi'an, the starting point of the Silk Road, is now a sister city of the Turkmen city of Mary, in ancient times one of the richest trading cities along this route, and today is a geographical zone of the supergiant hydrocarbon deposits.

The shift of the megatrends of world politics, according to the head of Turkmenistan, dictates the need for multilateral efforts in promoting a new philosophy of international relations.

Berdimuhamedov proposed to form consultative mechanisms at the level of the foreign ministries of Central Asia and China in order to promote the agreements reached and review their implementation.

Turkmenistan, aimed at diversifying its energy supplies to international markets, is also ready to implement new projects to export natural gas to China.

Turkmenistan is ready to expand cooperation in the transport sector. The project "Revival of the Great Silk Road" is designed to unite vast spaces from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, linking production and technological cycles and industrial belts. In this context, it is important to focus efforts on optimizing the transport flows of the Central Asian region and China.

Turkmenistan also proceeds from the importance of cooperation in the humanitarian sphere and stands for the development of scientific and educational ties.

"The peoples of Central Asia and China have given the world outstanding scientists, inventors, thinkers, we are the heirs and keepers of the richest cultural and scientific traditions," said Serdar Berdimuhamedov. "That's why we need to encourage this interest and actively promote broad cultural and scientific exchanges on a regular basis."

In furtherance of this idea, the Head of Turkmenistan proposed to organize and hold a Youth Forum of Central Asian and Chinese countries in Mary in November this year.

Caravans and pomegranate trees

Over the past decade, China and Central Asian countries have worked closely together to revive the Silk Road and actively deepen future-oriented cooperation.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway passing through the Tien Shan Mountains, the China-Tajikistan highway through the Pamir Plateau, the steel highway from the Chinese-Kazakh border to the southern borders of Turkmenistan, the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline crossing vast territories and the desert are modern embodiments of the Silk Road.

Trains, streams of trucks and cross-flights, which are becoming more and more recently, are modern incarnations of camel caravans that ploughed these territories in ancient times...

References to centuries-old history were often heard one way or another at the "loud" summit in Xi'an, after which the heads of six states planted six pomegranate trees to to demonstrate their hopes for a bright future of relations between China and Central Asia.

Pomegranate in the East is considered a symbol of fertility and abundance, vitality, and its tightly gathered grains are the personification of friendship and hospitality. It is even believed that the shape of the pomegranate sepals, blooming in May, served as a prototype of the royal headdress - the crown.

So let peace, success and prosperity crown a "new era" in relations between the countries of Central Asia and China.

ORIENT news