Along ancient Silk Road, Xi cultivates new bonds with Central Asia

BEIJING -- In the shimmering early summer heat of Xi'an, China's longest-serving ancient capital, six pomegranate trees stand gracefully near the site of the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit held in May 2023, their branches bowing low with fruit.

Planted two years ago by Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of the five Central Asian nations, this vibrant grove stands as a vivid testament to the increasingly close and dynamic bond between China and Central Asia.

Building on past achievements, Xi and his Central Asia counterparts are scheduled to gather in Astana, Kazakhstan, later this month for a second summit, where they will weave tighter threads of trade, security and connectivity across the Eurasian heartland.

Forging New Paradigm

The 2023 Xi'an summit marked the first-ever meeting of heads of state under the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism. In the city's time-honored embrace, they agreed to host the top-level gathering every two years alternately in China and Central Asia.

Last year, this mechanism was further institutionalized with the establishment of a secretariat in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, Xi's home province.

Xi places great importance on China's ties with the region. In his view, Central Asia pulses at a strategic crossroads, linking East and West, North and South.

"It is a foreign-policy priority for China to develop friendly cooperative relations with the Central Asian countries," Xi said during his first visit to Central Asia after becoming Chinese president in 2013.

Since then, he has traveled to the region eight times, deepening partnerships bilaterally as well as through platforms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.

Today, Central Asia stands as the only region in the world where every country is a strategic partner of China. These partnerships, Xi said, have forged a new path of good-neighborliness and win-win cooperation, creating a new paradigm for international relations.

A highlight of the Xi'an summit was the signing of the Xi'an Declaration, in which Xi and the presidents of the five Central Asian countries vowed to work together to build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

This pledge aligns with the core idea of what's known as Xiplomacy: building a community with a shared future for mankind. Notably, the vision has been fully implemented at the bilateral level in Central Asia.

Sheradil Baktygulov, director of the Institute of World Policy of Kyrgyzstan, said that the shared political will of Xi and the leaders of Central Asia is key to the sustained development of China-Central Asia cooperation.

"This cooperation not only strengthens bilateral ties, but also lays the foundation for a new model of multilateral collaboration in the Eurasian region," he added.

Xi's strong personal rapport with the leaders of Central Asia fuels these ties. At the Xi'an summit, Xi greeted Tajik President Emomali Rahmon as "my old friend." In talks with Xi, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev referred to him as his "dear brother."

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, also a seasoned sinologist, arrived in Xi'an on his 70th birthday. Xi told him, "On this special occasion, your visit speaks volumes about the strength of our bilateral ties and reaffirms your unique bond with China."

Reviving silk road

"Start the shipment!" With this command, Xi and Tokayev jointly launched the China-Europe Trans-Caspian Express Route at a ceremony held in July 2024 in Astana.

The occasion marked the formal establishment of a multidimensional connectivity network, integrating highways, railways, airlines and pipelines, to better link Asia with Europe via the Caspian Sea. It is expected to become a vibrant artery of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

While the ancient Silk Road witnessed robust trade and cultural exchanges between China and Central Asia, Xi sees in the region an important partner in modern-day Belt and Road cooperation.

Back in September 2013, also in Astana, Xi delivered a landmark speech at Nazarbayev University, where he first laid out his vision for building the Silk Road Economic Belt -- a key component of the BRI.

"We can actively discuss the best way to improve cross--border transportation infrastructure," Xi said, "and work toward a transportation network connecting East Asia, West Asia and South Asia to facilitate economic development and travel in the region."

Over the years since then, that vision has steadily become a reality. In a recent instance, a commencement ceremony for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was held late last year in the Kyrgyz border city of Jalalabad. Xi, in a congratulatory letter, called for building the railway into a "new demonstration project" under Belt and Road cooperation.

The line will originate from the ancient Silk Road hub of Kashgar, in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, cross the Torugart Pass into Kyrgyzstan, proceed westward through Jalalabad, and reach the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan.

This railway, said Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, is not merely a transport corridor, but serves as an important strategic bridge connecting countries of the East and the West.

Belt and Road cooperation has effectively boosted trade, travel and exchanges in the region. In 2024, China's trade with Central Asia reached a record $94.8 billion, fueled in part by a booming cross-border e-commerce sector. China now stands as Central Asia's top trading partner and major investment source.

Tajikistan became the first country to sign a memorandum of understanding with China regarding the Silk Road Economic Belt in 2014. Collaboration has since produced tangible outcomes, ranging from new highways and power plants to new city landmarks, many of which have been personally championed by Xi.

Tajikistan is also home to the first Luban Workshop in Central Asia -- a Chinese vocational training center that has already equipped more than 1,500 students with practical skills in engineering, architecture, water management and environmental protection, preparing talent for the nation's future development.

In a state visit to the country in 2024, Xi said to Rahmon: "I have seen a more prosperous Tajikistan."

Weaving cultural tapestries

In the autumn of 2022, while visiting the storied Silk Road city of Samarkand, Xi presented Uzbek President Mirziyoyev with a special gift: a miniature of Khiva, a historic Silk Road outpost.

Khiva is China's first cultural heritage preservation project in Central Asia. Thanks to years of restoration led by Chinese experts, the ancient town has taken on a new look.

"The preservation and restoration of historical sites in Khiva, a project launched during my visit to Samarkand in 2013, has been successfully concluded, further augmenting the charm of this ancient city," Xi wrote in a signed article ahead of his 2022 visit to Uzbekistan.

During an earlier trip to the country in 2016, Xi met with the Chinese experts working on the project. "Be sure to protect the cultural relics well," he urged them.

Over the years, joint archaeological efforts between Chinese and Central Asian scholars have expanded across the region, including the ancient city of Rahat in Kazakhstan and an ancient Buddhist temple of Krasnaya Rechka in Kyrgyzstan.

Xi has repeatedly stressed that the China-Central Asia friendship is one steeped in history. On multiple occasions, he invoked the legacy of Zhang Qian, the Han Dynasty envoy who traveled westward more than 2,100 years ago and opened the door to enduring friendship and exchanges between China and the region. He has also emphasized the need to "carry forward our traditional friendship."

During his state visit to Kazakhstan in 2024, Xi, together with Tokayev, unveiled the Kazakhstan branch of Beijing Language and Culture University, the very institution where the Kazakh president studied Chinese in the 1980s. Xi expressed his hope that the new school would enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples, especially the young generation.

As part of the visit, Xi met a group of schoolchildren who greeted him in Mandarin and sang a Chinese song. Some among them expressed their dream of one day studying at Tsinghua University, Xi's alma mater.

"I also wish, with all my heart, that you will be able to attend good universities in the future. And you are very welcome to pursue your studies in China," the Chinese president smiled.

Commenting on the broader impact of such exchanges, Uzbek political observer Sharofiddin Tulaganov noted that under the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism, mutual learning among civilizations will be significantly enhanced.

In today's complex international environment, he added, institutionalized people-to-people exchanges like these will inject valuable cultural momentum into efforts at safeguarding regional peace and promoting shared development.