China-Central Asia Summit 2023: Focus on History, Cooperation, and Stability

Against the background of the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine, intensified competition between the United States and China, and the estrangement between the West and China, China hopes to expand its international influence. The China-Central Asia Summit provides Beijing with a good opportunity to demonstrate its “deep friendship” with Central Asia.

The summit, held in Xi’an – Chang’an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road – is full of symbolism. What Beijing wants people to see is that China and Central Asia have had close ties since ancient times.

On the evening of May 18, Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan held a welcoming ceremony and banquet in the Tang Paradise in Xi’an. Xi Jinping said in his speech that Shaanxi “witnessed the profound friendship between China and Central Asian countries for more than two thousand years.”

From the list of performances after the banquet, the intentions of the hosts can also be seen: there is a Chinese-Russian bilingual recitation of “A bosom friend in the sea, and a neighbor in the world”, and singers from six countries sing “Beauty and Beauty Together”. Chinese state media summed it up as “the road is not alone, the destiny is shared”.

On the 17th and 18th, Xi Jinping also held one-on-one talks with Central Asian heads of state. The first is China’s largest trading partner in Central Asia, President Tokayev of Kazakhstan. Xi Jinping wished each other a happy 70th birthday, and also said that China-Kazakhstan relations have opened a new “golden thirty years”. Tokayev, who had studied in China, showed off his Chinese during the interview, revealing that he misses Chinese delicacies such as Peking duck and Dandan noodles.

After the summit, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang said in an interview with the media that Xi Jinping’s celebration of Tokayev’s birthday, which coincides with his birthday, fully reflects the profound friendship between the two heads of state. The heads of state of the six countries planted pomegranate trees together, symbolizing that the six countries are closely united like pomegranate seeds.

At the summit, Xi Jinping put forward “four insistences” on how to build a China-Central Asia community with a shared future. These four insistences are mutual help, common development, universal security, and friendship from generation to generation, so as to create a community of “unity and mutual trust, win-win cooperation, eternal peace, and one heart and one mind”.

The “Xi’an Declaration” has nearly 5,000 words, among which “cooperation” appears more than 50 times, and “development” appears more than 40 times, all of which rank among the best in the frequency of appearances.

Looking closely at the list of summit outcomes, there are a total of 54 “main cooperation consensus and initiatives”, covering trade, investment, infrastructure, energy, digital technology, agriculture, culture, personnel exchanges and other aspects. Key measures include:

Although China’s trade volume in Central Asia is not the most important part of China’s foreign trade, the five Central Asian countries are not only rich in natural resources, but also connect east and west, which is the only way for Eurasian trade. Central Asia can look to China as an alternative when Russia is drawn into a protracted war in Ukraine.

Another thread running through Xi Jinping’s speech, the Xi’an Declaration and the list of summit outcomes is peace, security and stability.

Among Xi Jinping’s “four insistences”, the third is to insist on universal security. In his keynote speech, he said that he resolutely opposes external forces interfering in the internal affairs of regional countries and instigating “color revolutions”, and maintains zero tolerance for the “three evil forces”. However, Xi Jinping did not specify who the “external forces” are.

Xi Jinping also said that China is willing to help Central Asian countries strengthen their law enforcement, security and defense capabilities, support their efforts to independently maintain regional security and counter-terrorism, and carry out cyber security cooperation.

Qin Gang also emphasized in an interview with the media after the summit that no one has the right to create discord and confrontation in Central Asia, let alone seek political self-interest from it.

Before the summit, Chinese state media reported that the stability of Central Asia was “very important” for maintaining the stability of China, especially the northwest region.

Northwest China mainly refers to Xinjiang, which has attracted attention due to human rights issues in recent years. China’s Xinjiang policy has drawn international criticism, especially from Western countries. In terms of geography, ethnicity, culture, history, etc., Xinjiang has closer ties with Central Asian countries, and Xinjiang issues have also attracted long-term attention in these countries.

The China-Central Asia summit overlaps with the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The war in Ukraine and Beijing’s “coercion” will be high on the agenda at the G7 summit.

The China-Central Asia summit had previously predicted that China, which was trying to mediate peace between Moscow and Kiev, might speak out again during the summit and ask the five Central Asian countries to echo its voice. But in fact, in Xi Jinping’s speech, the Xi’an Declaration and other summit public documents, there is no mention of the Ukraine war.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown Central Asia into a dilemma. On the one hand, Ukraine is also a republic of the former Soviet Union, and the five Central Asian countries will inevitably feel bitter; on the other hand, the Central Asian countries that have long relied on Moscow in terms of politics and economy will inevitably be implicated by Western sanctions. Looking back at the outbreak of war in 2022, the five Central Asian countries have been cautious as walking a tightrope: they did not condemn Russia’s aggression, but they did not publicly express their support either. The five Central Asian countries either abstained or were absent in the UN General Assembly vote condemning the Russian aggression.

Although the China-Central Asia Summit did not mention the Ukrainian war, Chinese state media criticized the G7 for “flaming” the Russia-Ukraine conflict during this period.

China’s official media “Global Times” stated in an editorial on May 18 that in addition to taking specific actions to further provoke the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the G7 countries also focused on China and were interested in organizing groups to strengthen containment other countries.

In an interview with the media after the summit, Qin Gang said that the cooperation between China and Central Asia “does not target any third party, nor is it controlled by a third party. It does not engage in closed and exclusive “small circles”, and is even more opposed to bloc politics and Cold War confrontation.”

Russia was not mentioned at the China-Central Asia Summit, but another news that came out on the closing day of the summit was that Russian Prime Minister Mishustin will visit China next week (May 23-24).

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announced the news at a regular press conference on Friday (May 19).

Wang Wenbin said that we look forward to “further strengthening bilateral cooperation, deepening cultural and local exchanges, and injecting strong momentum into the recovery of the world economy” through Mishustin’s visit to China.

During the visit, “Russia and China will discuss issues of bilateral trade and economic cooperation,” the Kremlin said.