Interview: China-Central Asia Summit "important" amid uncertainties in int'l politics, says scholar

Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Ankara-based Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, aired the view in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The event is the first in-person gathering among heads of state of China and five Central Asian countries since China established diplomatic ties with them 31 years ago.

During the summit, the six countries unanimously agreed to firmly defend multilateralism and resist unilateralism, hegemonism and power politics, injecting more certainty into a world full of uncertainties. They also signed seven bilateral and multilateral documents as well as over 100 cooperation agreements in various fields.

China and Central Asian countries play a critical role in maintaining regional stability and steady economic growth, the expert said, highlighting the importance of expanding Belt and Road cooperation for political stability and economic progress in the region.

This summit also "underlines the decisiveness of the leaders to keep further cooperation on its track," said Colakoglu.

Ten years into Belt and Road cooperation, China and Central Asian countries have made historic achievements. In 2022, trade volume hit a record high of 70.2 billion U.S. dollars, an over 100-fold increase since diplomatic ties were established about three decades ago. In the first two months of this year, trade between China and the five Central Asian countries surged 22 percent year on year.

The successful high-quality cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries "will boost further regional cooperation," he said.

The outcomes of the summit in Xi'an "are very positive" and will have "further positive impacts on regional security and regional cooperation," said Colakoglu.