The policy of the belt and the road … The stabilization of Central Asia is essential to concentrate competition with the United States
–
Central Asia Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which Chinese President Xi Jinping has chosen as his first trip abroad, are important countries for China’s economy and security.
According to Kazakhstan state news agency Kazinform on the 13th (local time), this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kazakhstan.
Notably, Kazakhstan is also where President Xi first announced the idea of a “new Silk Road economic zone” in October 2013.
For this reason, Kazakhstan is classified as a key component of China-led “One Belt, One Road” policy.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, the two countries have continued to trade in a wide range of sectors, including minerals, metals, chemicals and machinery and equipment.
The trading volume, which was only $ 368 million (about 510 billion won) in 1992, increased nearly 70 times to $ 25.25 billion (about 35 trillion won) in 2021.
Between January and July of this year, the trading volume reached $ 17.7 billion (about 25 trillion won), up 20% from the same period last year.
Last year, China invested $ 21.3 billion (about 30 trillion won) in Kazakhstan, the fourth largest after the Netherlands, the United States and Switzerland.
The two countries are also continuing to trade in fields such as education, tourism and culture.
The Kazakh government expects that the summit between President Xi and Kazakh President Qasim-Jomart Tokayev to be held on the 14th will deepen a global strategic partnership in politics, economics and culture.
Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao stressed that “This visit (by President Xi) will lay a new basis for mutual political trust between the two countries and will represent a new milestone in trade cooperation”.
According to Uzbekistan’s local media Podrovno, the Uzbek government will also hold a bilateral meeting between Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President Xi during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held in Samarkand from 15 to 16, to renew the cooperation relationship between the two countries, the level should increase.
A railway project (CKU railway) linking China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan is currently underway in this region.
When the CKU railway, with a total length of 523 km, will be connected to Europe via Iran and Turkey, creating the shortest southern route between China and Europe.
Over the past five years, Chinese companies have invested a total of over $ 9 billion in Uzbekistan.
Central Asia is not only a cooperation target in China’s belt and road policy, but also a very important region in terms of security.
This is because stability in the Central Asian region adjacent or adjacent to its western border is essential for China to focus on strategic competition with the United States in the Indo-Pacific.
For this reason, it is analyzed that Xi’s move is to strengthen cooperation with the countries of Central Asia against the controls and pressures of Western countries such as the United States.
Also, considering that the SCO, a political, economic and security advisory body launched in 2001 led by China and Russia, recently expanded its reach to the Middle East and other countries, Central Asia is said to be the best place to show off Xi’s influence on the international community There is also an assessment.
In addition to China and Russia, SCO has six active members: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
It represents 41% of the world population and 24% of the world gross domestic product (GDP).
Furthermore, Iran, the largest anti-American group in the Middle East, has virtually completed the process of becoming a full member.
/ yunhap news
–
