The Second Central Asia-China Summit will be held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on June 17. This was reported by Kazakh media with reference to Akorda. The heads of state of six countries will take part in it: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The agenda includes a discussion of the prospects for further cooperation between China and Central Asia. It is expected that the parties will develop joint approaches to developing trade, economic and humanitarian ties, as well as strengthening regional security.

On the eve of the summit, Chinese-Kazakh high-level talks will be held. Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Kazakhstan on a two-day official visit on June 16.

Relations of China with the Central Asian countries have been developing since 1992, when diplomatic ties were established. They received a new impetus in May 2023, when the first summit in the China-Central Asia format was held and the corresponding mechanism of leaders' meetings was launched.

China is the largest trading partner and key investor in the region. In 2024, the volume of trade between China and the Central Asian countries amounted to 94.8 billion US dollars. The parties are also developing cultural cooperation: on May 29, the first international tourist train departed from Xi'an to the countries of the region, which was a new step in the direction of humanitarian exchanges.

ORIENT