What defines the future of China–Central Asia relations in an uncertain world?
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What defines the future of China-Central Asia relations in an uncertain world? Chinese President Xi Jinping answered with a new vision: the China-Central Asia spirit. Welcome to World Today, the panel discussion with Mi Ge-anna in Beijing.

The second China-Central Asia Summit has concluded in Astana, marking a new milestone in regional diplomacy. In his keynote, President Xi Jinping introduced the China-Central Asia spirit, defined by mutual respect, trust, benefit and assistance, a timely answer to global uncertainty. A major breakthrough was the signing of a permanent treaty of good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation by the six nations.

The summit also delivered over 110 cooperation outcomes, including three new centers on poverty reduction, education and desertification, and a platform for smoother trade.

Six priority areas were set: trade, connectivity, green minerals, agriculture, investment, and people-to-people ties, with collaboration expanding into AI and satellite navigation. So to explore what this means for the region and beyond, we are joined by Zun Amekan, research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization. Thanks for joining us.

Thank you for having me. Dr. Wang Jing, Associate Professor at Northwest University in Xi'an, China. Welcome, Professor. It's my great pleasure.

Dr. Zhou Mi, Senior Research Fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. Great to have you again. Thank you. Let's start with the big picture. Dr. Zhou, President Xi just wrapped up his trip to Astana for the second China-Central Asia Summit. What stood out to you the most during this visit? Any particular moment or message that really caught your attention?

Yeah, we know this is the third time I think the presidency has visited another country this year. So we know that China and the Central Asian countries will have so many important collaborations. I mean, most of these collaboration mechanisms are

coming from in the past on the bilateral levels. So we are going to have a better interaction in this region. I think it's a really important one because last time we had this one, the summit in China, but this time I think that we are able to go to Central Asian countries and try to have a better discussion about what we can do to improve the bilateral trade and investment cooperation and also some of our other areas of interactions.

So this is a really important message we have from this event because we see the world is now facing so many challenges, a lot of uncertainties, and a lot of countries are trying to think about what can we do to deal with such a kind of uncertainty. I think that's the leaders'

are sending us a very clear message that we can do more by interactions between our two parts and trying to establish a better mechanism to guarantee this cooperation can be sustainable. So in my understanding that it's not only about the messages, we can also see there are several

important declarations and also include so many different projects. And many of these projects are just trying to make it into our big basket, in my understanding, not just the single projects. I believe this kind of cooperation are just trying to prove its abilities.

Zun, what's your take? Were there symbolic gestures or political signals that deserve more attention in your opinion? I completely, you know, first of all, resonate with Professor's comments. We see a holistic, you know, kind of cooperation. And this has been exponentially, you know, the depth of

and the breadth of the cooperation between China and Central Asia has been exponentially increasing, whether you look at the trade patterns, whether you look at the fact that 85% of all goods going to Europe from China go through Central Asia.

So China-Central Asia, you know, cooperation has been actually quite significant for anyone who's observing China's growing interest and growing proactivity in the region and beyond. That said, I mean, I think, first of all, absolutely, the fact that a lot of practical aspects have been specifically covered. Maybe your listeners would also already know that this is the

first time with President Xi's current visit. This is the first time that all five Central Asian republics have gotten together with all the state leaders in Central Asia with another global leader. And that first leader is President Xi Jinping. We know that China Central Asia cooperation with China Central Asia spirit being announced. The focus is also on a shared humanity, a shared future. And I think this is particularly important when you look at the messaging

that all countries, President Xi's own address, whether we talk about the bilateral engagements, all of them are focused on trade, investment, connectivity, cooperation, but also the need for positive multilateralism. All leaders emphasize, especially President Xi, that we want to build our relations and we want to together, you know, stand against forces that want hegemony.

that are working against globalization, that are working against the shared future of humanity. And I think in that sense, you know, China-Central Asia cooperation under this mechanism with the second summit, while it is extremely practical, focused on technical cooperation, education, poverty reduction, desertification, et cetera, it is also not only giving a strong message for positive multilateralism and peace in the world, it is standing as a symbol that can work

as a step forward for better unity and positive collaboration and cooperation between countries in the world. It's a good template for other countries, other regions to follow as well. A gathering that seeks cooperation rather than confrontation. Professor Wang, how do you interpret the atmosphere among the leaders this time?

Well, I think it's a very successful summit. On the one hand, we look at the achievement of more than 110 agreements that have been signed in different Central Asian countries. And these agreements cover not only the political spirit for cooperation, spirit cooperation for further trust between China and different Central Asian countries, but also there are some very concrete

agreements signed between different ministries of China as well as the ministries and departments of different situation countries. And also, I think it's quite important that if we're looking at these agreements, such as these agreements between different so far friendship cities and friendship provinces would be established, this mechanism would be established between, for example, the Chinese Hubei province, Shaanxi province, Xinjiang autonomous region,

and the other important provinces, they will establish the so-called friendship cooperation, friendship city, the friendship partnership with the provinces in several situation countries. It's very, very important because it's become a new mechanism to facilitate people-to-people exchange

to facilitate the understanding between different countries, particularly from the social and the people level. And also it would be regarded that there are positive, successful routes that have been achieved between China Central Agency through the multilateral friendship and the trust will be further enhanced.

So that's why it's a good news. Professor Wang, as you said, the outcomes are remarkable. 110 cooperation items. That's a huge list of deliverables. So what do you think made this level of agreement possible? I think several factors did happen because I don't know.

On the one hand, we say that more than 10 years ago, 12 years ago, that China's balance one initiative was proposed by China's President Xi Jinping in his visits to the Central Asian states. So that's why it's suggested that China's relations with Central Asian countries should be regarded as the Chinese very important diplomatic priorities, particularly when we are talking about the cultural factors and the political spots as well as, of course, economic

This should be regarded as an important priority for China's cooperation with other countries. And meanwhile, as we just mentioned, that two years ago, the first session on China's saturation summit was held. So that's why it is also important that right now that China and saturation countries have a very strong mechanism for cooperation. And this cooperation could further be

the motivation for future uh the more cooperation more grim and science in here this time and lots of a lot of these i think that china's sincereness as well as the aspiration essential station countries for economic development have already been witnessed by both sides so that's why the two sides china and situation countries now we are willing to further

encourage, push forward the cooperation with each other. So that's why at a very particular time that both sides, China and Central Asian countries could reach such a successful, fruitful agreement at this session of the summit. Indeed. Dr. Zhou, what's your take? What's driving such a strong momentum in China-Central Asia ties? Well, we know that China and the Central Asian countries, we are neighbors. So we are making a lot of friendships based on the investment and the trade collaborations.

And you may know that Central Asia may be the region which is the farthest from the ocean. It is at the center of the Euro-Asian continent. So when you are going to try to trade with the main market in the world, it has to take such a long time or distance to travel to make those cargoes coming from the Central Asian countries to the oceans.

and then shipped to the other main markets. So it has a lot of requirements on the collaboration and the connections with the world's main markets. And China has played this kind of roles in the past decades. We have built many roles to help those countries to do more business as well. I have to say that they also have some relations with Russia, European Union. So it's playing a very important role in this kind of cooperation.

Well, now we are seeing that the world has changed. We are seeing that no matter United States or European Union markets, they are changing. I mean, not dramatically just to decrease its demands, but actually it's making it more difficult for the Central Asian countries to do business with them. Well, on the other hand, China's market is growing. If you're looking at the data, the consumption in China is continually keeping its momentum.

a pretty good speed of increase. So we are trying to have a much more important position to cooperate with our neighbors of the Central Asian countries. If we are going to make this trade and development sustainable for the Central Asian countries, and I believe that it's a very

helpful for them to establish a better mechanism to assure the trade with us. I think that is the main reason why we are seeing that they are trying to establish a higher level of collaboration. Well, on the other hand, we are seeing the world is under uncertainty. This uncertainty is coming from the protectionism and some of this, you know, distortion of the world rules, which is very damaging and not so good for all the stakeholders in the world.

The Central Asian countries are not all of them are the members of WTO, but they are trying to catch up with the mutual understanding and the multilateral system. So in this regard, I believe that we are providing much more certainty to the Central Asian countries, especially for the economies, for the infrastructure collaboration, and also for the markets. So the people's sectors, the enterprises of the Central Asian countries can rely

China's sustainability even more than before. I think that is really a very important time for us to give some guidelines for the companies to deal with each other and trying to make it a longer term of planning on how can we cooperate with each other.

Jun, what do you think enabled such a wide-ranging set of deliverables this time? You know, one of the aspects that I think is most significant, of course, you know, there is a historic precedent. Central Asia is, you know, the heart of Eurasian cooperation in many ways. We also see that there is a political priority. Even prior to the Belt and Road Initiative's announcement, there was a lot of investment coming from China towards the Central Asian republics.

in pipelines, in railways. And I think that has continued. Central Asia has been central to the Belt and Road Vision. It's also part of the SCO. But I think one of the most important factors that enables such a tangible way forward for the region is that it has really arrived at

an important regional consensus. All five Central Asian republics are on board with working together with China and they see China as an opportunity, as was mentioned by Dr. Zhou as well and Professor earlier. It's true that the region has the geostrategic significance. They have cooperation platforms or mechanisms with the European Union, with Russia,

It is seen as a significant region, but it is really China right now that is, first of all, able to give the Central Asian republics the kind of investment, interest and the kind of opportunities that the countries are looking for. An example is, you know, look at the talent coming from Central Asian republics towards China right now, whether it's scholarships or young people coming for training courses from relevant ministries to understanding how China has achieved its own development.

technical cooperation. All of this is important capacity building for a region that has a very young population, a very dynamic population. And today at 80 million, 2050 Central Asian republics will have a population of 120 million. So it's an increasing population that is currently the way those republics see. My understanding, they see China as a country that is investing

in the present and the future of that region. So I think that's one of the reasons you see this kind of synergy, that all five republics are on board and they want to further enhance the capacity of this mechanism itself. So we know that this is the only platform, even though all five republics have dialogue and cooperation with other powers, with China as the only one that they have a second

They see China as a country that's helping them become more innovative, achieve their domestic or regional visions as well, help them arrive at better plans for the region at large. That synergy within the region also plays a very important role.

Indeed, behind this lies the long-standing deep political trust between China and the Central Asian countries and their complementary economic structures and a shared vision for development, as Zun has just pointed out. So, Professor Wang, China will host the next summit in 2027. What's the basis for such regular exchanges at a time when the world is faced with confrontation and division? What makes this partnership a source of stability?

I think there were because several factors. First of all, it's a very trust all the year. We need to establish trust between different countries. For example, we are looking at what kind of, for example, China's diplomacy with the very strong differences of other countries.

major powers. One of the very important features is that China does not want to intervene the internal affairs of the other countries. And also China respects the other countries based upon the very equal and just status with each other. So that's why I think it's kind of a very strong stance of establishing the sphere

friendships with other countries could be noticed by Central Asian countries and could be felt. And secondly, I think the Central Asian countries also hopefully establish the kind of the more close ties with China to seek new opportunities because we know that always there were a lot of talks about, okay, Central Asian countries, they should maybe explore more closer ties with Russia or they should maybe develop some more close ties with the United States.

But actually, I think during the last several years, we have already witnessed it very clearly that the Central Asian countries now hope to become more and more independent. They have their own independent history. They have their own independent culture. They hope to explore the culture that's different from

other parts of the world another circle of the culture so that's why i think china become the important or even a prioritized choice for them to establish the new cooperation mechanism and the cooperative opportunity so that's why i think it gets the inspector now we're facing a very important time and the crucial moment that new possibilities could be

of cooperation to be explored. And when the two sides, they find new mechanism under the so far fan of world initiative, they could find a true friend. And also the China and the Central Asian states, we realized that the potential for the other side to develop the further closer relations with each other. So that's why the first session of the China Centration Summit was established. And also the fact that, I mean, during the past, more than a

that the case so many achievements have been realized and during this session of the summit China Central Summit so many agreements have been signed so that's why it is a very very positive sign it is an important achievement and that is worth of being praised by the world

Dr. Zhou, do you share the same stance? How does the China-Central Asia mechanism differ from those established by other major powers in the region? Yeah, I agree with Professor Wang's message. I think that it's important to understand that the relation between our two parts are based on the market demands. So maybe there are a lot of different considerations from the political side, from the international relations side.

But from China and the Central Asian side, I think that we are based on the market. The companies, I mean the sectors, the people that really needs us to have a better collaboration. We can find that in the previous decade, we're suffering a lot from different kind of the impacts from the disease,

the cold wind from the financial disasters, a lot of disruptions on the supply chains, which make it very difficult for the countries to try to have a sustainable and stable development.

But China is providing a very stable predictability. I think that is the main reason why many countries want to export more things to China because we have a very sustainable market. But on the other hand, we can find that many Chinese companies have already started to invest in other countries.

which they are not just trying to get the resources over those places but also trying to use their technology to teach the people to employ those people and train those people which is a very important i mean the effect of the spillover for the technology

And based on this kind of collaboration, many countries are developing their industrial industries, especially in the manufacturing. So the demands from the market are really the key issues for us to believe that collaboration with China is nothing to do with, you know, something to do with the political consideration or internal fears into wings. I think that is a really important message.

that many parts want to get better and closer relation with China. Well, on the other hand, I want to say that China is always not just trying to do some one-way interaction. We are doing something from the two ways. So we welcome the investment from the Central Asian countries, I mean from those companies to come here to enjoy China's development.

by investing here with Chinese people. So I think that's a really very important one because if you're looking at many other, especially the major economies, they are trying to stop their commitments and close their doors, trying to not let other people to go into their markets and trying to do a lot of wars around their borders.

So for Chinese markets, there really are kind of a very potential development for so many other countries. I think that is also one area that we have included in these declarations and some of the programs by the two sides that we want to have

more people-to-people exchanges about education, about how can we do more knowledge and also the technology improvement and even the innovations. As you said, this mechanism is a practical demonstration of multilateralism and mutual benefit.

Speaking of that, one of the biggest highlights from this year's summit was President Xi's announcement of the China-Central Asia Spirit, built on mutual respect, trust, benefit and assistance, and guided by the goal of achieving modernization through high-quality development.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted this spirit was forged through long-term practical cooperation. So Zun, in what ways has this spirit been reflected in past cooperation between China and Central Asia? Are there any specific examples you can share? I'll resonate with what our panelists previously said. I think it connects with the announcement and the legacy of what we now are going to call this China-Central Asia spirit. China

is firstly and obviously seen as an opportunity, a dynamic economy, a dynamic country that is interested in building lasting partnerships around the world, especially in the region. And therefore, you know, China is seen as a very stable, long-term, committed partner for the Central Asian Republic.

I think that is one important factor. And consistently, you know, for the past three decades, pretty much. Then China is a very respectful country towards its neighbors. We know that, you know, the five principles of peaceful coexistence are the hallmark

of Chinese foreign policy. This is the premise under which China is pursuing its partnerships. And whereas absolutely, you know, economic factors, the receptivity of Chinese businesses towards Central Asia and vice versa, the demands are defining the exact contours of the economic relations and future of this partnership.

It is also the fact that China is, when it comes to investments, when it comes to government-to-government cooperation, China is very much in sync with what the republics themselves want for themselves. Whether it's domestic plans, we know that the BRI and other initiatives by China in the region have been completely in synchrony with the local initiatives. And that kind of respect is

is very important when it comes to relations, lasting partnerships. If we look at specific examples, I think the fact that we see so much investments that China has made in the region have been beneficial to the region. Look at the examples of Luban workshops, other education partnerships, which are actually helping people to people, cultural exchanges. You look at how young people

from China and from Central Asian republics are looking towards each other to start their businesses, to get a better education, to improve opportunities for themselves. That's really an example of the holistic nature of this partnership. When it comes to the cultural ties,

Both sides have been very welcoming to each other. So this is a very important aspect of long term relations. In the end, you know, the government priorities are very important. The respect governments give each other is very essential. That friendship is very important. But that has to translate towards businesses and people and culture. And I think that really the future of cooperation, whether it's China, Central Asia, whether it's other parts of the world.

Thanks, panelists. Still ahead, what's driving the next chapter of China-Central Asia relations? This is Road Today. Stay with us.

Welcome back to World Today. I'm your host, Ge'anna. We've been discussing what defines the future of China-Central Asia relations in an uncertain world. Let's dive back in. Professor Wang, how do you interpret the China-Central Asia spirit in today's context? When we're talking about multilateral or bilateral spirit, it is usually the big thing. It means that everybody in this mechanism or everybody in this kind of so-called organization or organization

or the framework, the agree on some kind of the very important psychological thinking ways of how to handle well with each other and how to manage the crisis and how to develop the future. So that's why we're talking about so-called spirit.

It's very crucial because we know that, for example, that two or three years ago that China and other Central Asian countries as well as many other member states of Shanghai Corporation Organization, we have the so-called Shanghai spirits, which is also an important spirit that we're calling for peace, we're calling for cooperation, calling for multilateral respect and equality.

It's very crucial and it's a very important way for further development of this mechanism. And now we have the new China saturation spirit. It's very, very crucial. And on the one hand, this is the China saturation state has already shared very important consensus on the multilateral or the bilateral relations with each other. And on the other hand, it also suggested that more potentials could be developed because when we're talking about spirits, he suggested that we trust each other.

and we hope that the truck will be continued and maintained further in the future. It is very, very positive news with real meaningfulness. So let's be frank and I see what happens after this summit or during the summit, I think one of the most important or one of the most meaningful saying that our achievement has to be realized

is that the spirit has been spoken out. It is very, very crucial. Dr. Zhou, what's your assessment on this? In what ways have values under this spirit already been demonstrated in past projects? Well, yeah, I think

that the experience really means that we have some consensus as experts have already expressed. But I want also to add two more points. The first one is that we know China is a developing country, so we have a benefit allowed by our

experiences in the urbanization and the industrialization and we always want to share our experiences with our partners. So this implies that we want to share what we already have with our friends. I think that is a really important thing because it's not only about something to do with economic benefits, it's about how can we just try to understand the situation and how can we try to have a better support on the

some of the weaker parts of these different countries and even the regions. We want to share with our friends that we are already ready to help them by more infrastructure, logistics, collaborations and more things in this regard.

And the second point I want to say is that China has never tried to put ourselves at a central position. So in this kind of collaboration between China and the Central Asian countries, we are equal for any part of these regions. So we also want to hear more from the Central Asian countries if they have more suggestions and more willingness on what kind of areas they want to cooperate with us. I think it's the spirit.

has provided a very open platform for both sides to discuss about the possibilities and the feasibilities for better collaboration in different ways. So in this regard, I think that experience has already shown us that some of the

The countries of Central Asia, like the Qatar-Hanistan, are very rich in resources and very good at those things. But for other countries like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, they really are good at agriculture, but not so good in many other energy resources or other issues.

So we can try to be more complimentary collaboration based on these scenarios. We are able to put it in our better position to cooperate with each other. I think that's a Central Asia areas, although they have a very lot of relations or collaboration among this area, but there's no such kind of mechanism to guarantee the integration in this region.

like ASEAN or other areas. So for this cooperation, for this spirit, I think that it's helpful for us to know more about each other.

And maybe it is helpful for us to have a better integration based on this knowledge about each other and trying to consider about what we can do to improve the integration in this region. Dr. Zhou, with this spirit, three new cooperation centers and a trade facilitation platform were announced covering poverty reduction, education and desertification. So from your perspective, how will this impact

help drive shared development across the region and what kind of impact do you expect to see? Well, as you mentioned, these three mechanisms are very essential because for both of us, we want to address the challenges like China has achieved to reduce all the poverty at the end of 2020. I think it's really an achievement that the world

has seen. So many countries, including Central Asia, want to learn from us and want to also reduce its poverty in this regard. But how can we deal with that? I think that the three mechanisms, no matter from some kind of the projects, corporations or the educations,

they are really trying to address the challenges, the most essential challenges that we are facing. And in this regard, I think that we have also accumulated some of the experience like in Xinjiang we have, and Gansu we have

already realized that some kind of development based on the, not just the kind of development from the industries, but also trying to use the energy transition from the fossil fuels to the renewable energies to provide a better protection and better abilities to deal with the jobs and provide a lot of desertations experience.

I think that under these three mechanisms we can try to improve that all. But I understand it's not just unilaterally because even for China we are not able to deal with all the different situations and conditions. So we have better two-way communications with our partners

to learn from them and not about the targets but also about the resources that we are having and also about how can we achieve these targets. So by these mechanisms, I think it's helpful for both sides. We can also learn more on how can we deal with the situation in different ways and we

also are able to improve our abilities in the Belt and Road regions and how can we have a better exchange on the culture. So these three mechanisms are both sides really want and we both will benefit from that. Jun, I want to get your perspective on this. How do you view these hubs for poverty reduction, education and desertification can show support inclusive development in the region?

You know, firstly, I think poverty reduction has become one of the most sought after achievements or whatever in the developing countries, among developing countries and the Belt and Road region since again at the end of 2020, especially when China was able to eradicate an absolute poverty. And that

achievement in itself will take, you know, for other countries to understand how China was able to do it. It was a very multi-pronged approach. If you go look at those regions, I think it takes a lot of understanding that a lot of these solutions were very domestically driven. Local communities were able to find solutions. And in that sense, when we say all these three mechanisms, they are going to together allow both sides to understand what are the precise solutions

that the Central Asian regions can employ, what kind of trainings they need to conduct for their people, what case studies within China they can study in order to understand for specific parts of their regions what the solutions are. When we talk about, you know, the China-Central Asia spirit, which is really a philosophical synchrony on both sides, that we are on the same page and that's...

floor together. And at the same time, this very meeting, you know, this three day visit has resulted in the most close to the ground practical cooperation between China and the republics. This shows the breadth of China's cooperation with the region. It also shows in a matter of just a decade or so,

The perspective of developing countries has completely changed. I think till 15 years ago, if people were studying developing economics or poverty, etc., they were not studying the kind of value creation that China has practically exhibited.

through its own development. And I think, you know, the fact that this is a priority in the partnership between China and Central Asia, it shows, it demonstrates how far our collective understanding of poverty reduction has come. It also shows that the SDGs are not just, you know, far away, they're quite achievable. What we need to do

is practically look at the communities that have been able to achieve it and understand that the solutions are going to require very targeted approaches. They're going to require a skill, critical thinking, which is going to be a priority in these mechanisms. I think, you know, this shows really how close to the ground

how progressive and how practical is also the partnership between both sides. And this can benefit, it can create jobs, help young people from Central Asia, universities, experts, etc., you know, come together to understand how to have a more sustainable way forward, whether it's poverty alleviation or agriculture, just to name a few. Mm-hmm.

Professor Wang, the summit also set out six priority areas for future cooperation: trade facilitation, industrial investment, connectivity, green minerals, agricultural modernization, and people-to-people exchanges. How will these priorities work in tandem with the newly announced cooperation centers we just mentioned?

I think when we're talking about six directions, like many other cooperation or partnerships between China and other regions, for example, China and Arab states, China and South Asian states, we have different directions. And these directions were designed according to the different characteristics of the countries that the partners, as well as the various possible achievements that could be realized in the future between the cooperation mechanism between China and Central Asian countries.

I think there were many factors that these separate directions are very highly cherished as well, very highly expected by China and Central Asian countries. For example, China has a risk for developing agriculture, as you mentioned, with the poverty, upgrades to the education systems.

And under these kinds of merits, and these merits are highly needed by the saturation countries, and many of the saturation countries get and receive the assistance from China, the aid from China in these areas. So that's why I think it is very easy and convenient for this country to establish the trust

over these six directions for cooperation with China. And on the other hand, let's say that they were very important directions for people to people to exchange, this should be highly important because we're talking about the foundation for the different states, political foundation, the leadership, partnership, friendship.

are very crucial, that's for sure. But I think the very important thing that would pay for much longer terms of way of production and mutual trust that should be regarded as the people-to-people exchange. Because it has been a solid foundation for the very important social atmosphere for further cooperation between different peoples in different nations. And the people-to-people exchange would play the very crucial role.

Speaking of six priority areas for future cooperation, Dr. Zhou, this is your area of expertise. What tangible new dynamics might emerge and how will they positively shape the region?

Okay, so I agree with Professor Wang. Different countries have different directions or targets. Like if you are looking at Qatar-Hastan, they reached a concept of building a road of brightness. I think that for my understanding, the meaning of the road of brightness means

maybe two levels. The first one is that the countries can be supported by the energy, by its energy advantages that all the countries, countryside, villages and even the remote districts can have no problem with the electricity or energy supply. But even higher level, you might understand it is a symbol of prosperity

So the brightness means that the people will have a very good life and they can make a living easily and with a lot of support on the enterprises. So for China, I think that's a Belt and Road Initiative is trying to connecting with Kazakhstan and it's a target of doing that. But maybe in a not a traditional way. So we are helping the Chinese companies like in the new energy vehicles or some of the solar panels, other

new energy producers to cooperate with our partners. They are helping, you know, also trying to cope with Katahalistan and their green mining and also trying to help them to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and also trying to be helpful for them to deal with climate change. Well, you know, the use of the new energy vehicles are also spread in the South

uh in the central asian countries i think that's a really a good examples but if you are good look at uh georgia and they have many differences about the energies in the north and in the south they are quite different so the better way for us to deal with that is to build a very effective and efficient national uh great to send the electricity

And China's companies are really good at doing that. So I think these are just the two examples, but it's giving us some of these ideas about how can we try to reach our target of the development.

Like we know that Chinese companies are really good at trying to do something new, like for the artificial intelligence as one example. Many Chinese companies are not just trying to use the support of the DeepSeq and they are also trying to do more about the application development. They are providing the solutions for a package of

improvement in these new areas. They are trying to change the modes of doing businesses and in the manufacturing process.

So in this regard, I think that for both sides, China and the Central Asian countries, we can try to define what kind of priorities for the next five years or even 10 years, 15 years, and trying to make a better and more stable environment, like the policy environment, like to build some kind of the industrial zones. As for the industrial zones, I think that's

I have to mention that many Chinese companies have already done something, some of the industrial zones in the Central Asian countries, maybe not all of them are

the manufacturing, some of them are doing the agricultural parks in those regions. They are trying to create a little bit, I will not say a micro level, but maybe it's a central level of stable environment for the companies to do their things together. I think it's really helpful for us to give a very clear signals and expectations to the market and trying to meet those developments.

So innovation are always what we want for all the countries in the world. But we have to deal with also the problems about the transition period. How can we deal with the problem of employment? So in this regard, I think that's the three points

that we have discussed about education, we can try to also to educate the people to train them with better skills to fit for the future industries or some new industries, trying to let them know more about these skills. And it's very helpful for them to also in this process of transition from the traditional one to the new ones. Dr. Zhou, on the tech front, there were exciting developments too, like

agreements on AI and the Beidou satellite system. How do you see this shaping China and Central Asia's role in the global tech supply chain? We know China itself is facing tech oppressions from Washington. So how do these partnerships enhance China and Central Asia's position in the global tech sector? Yeah, in my understanding that we cannot just rely on one market.

The relation between China and the United States is important, but we have to also think about the possibilities. I mean, it's a combination between the profits

and the risks. We have to balance these kind of ideas. I think that there are still so many very large room in the cooperation with our trading partners. That is what we have witnessed in the past decade, like the Belt and Road Initiative has created such a high increase on the trade and investment compared with the rest of the world. In my understanding that we can do more to cooperate with our central

Asia countries, it's not only just trying to improve their abilities on the development, but also to increase their market, to try to improve their market conceptions and also the demand from the industrial side. So the intermediate products, resources, the auto parts, and so many things that are possible for us to deal with collaboration. So I think that is really helpful for us to try to

have a more stable mechanism to assure that the cooperation can continue, maybe in a different way, but we still have so many things to improve. I think that will benefit both sides of us. Jun, we know many of the Central Asian countries have their own big national development plans like Kazakhstan's Bright Path and Uzbekistan's New Uzbekistan.

How can this align more closely with the Belt and Road Initiative, also including those new agreements achieved during the summit to create greater synergy in the region?

You know, one of the things that making this meeting between China and Central Asian republics by establishing the mechanism, the secretariat, ensuring that both sides can meet on a regular basis, it also ensures that there is a constant reflection, constant understanding, dialogue, further maybe enhancement of these domestic plans also based on what opportunities are available for them. So I think

The fact that the Belt and Road Initiative has firstly always been a proposal for development, which has then interacted with the domestic requirements and in some, in many cases, the domestic existing plans of those countries.

the partner countries and then created something that both sides that works for both sides in particular the partner country where the infrastructure where the investment of the proposed plans is going to be based so this has always been i mean whether we think about when in 2013 the bri was announced if we also go prior to that the kind of investments that china was making in central asian countries and other parts of the world were always aligned with

domestic visions. In many cases, those visions have been very solid. And this is also the case for Pakistan, China. Pakistan Economic Corridor was also a combination of China's proposals, Pakistan's own vision, and that's how both sides have continued to cooperate. So I think if when countries that are partner countries with China, they have a

a solid vision. They have already done their research. They have a certain expertise and an existing direction. Actually, that makes their partnership with China, their cooperation much more faster, at least we can say that. The speed with which, you know, then the outcomes can be implemented is faster because both sides are very much aligned and the country fully understands the direction it wants to go into.

So with the mechanism established, these individual plans, like you mentioned, Kazakhstan's bright path, Uzbekistan's new Uzbekistan, and maybe other Central Asian countries will also have similar plans. They will come together to be further refined or maybe deviate slightly to accommodate different

bigger, greater interests of the entire region. And this is completely, you know, what the Belt and Road vision is all about. Professor Wang, how can this, what we have mentioned earlier, be effectively aligned with Belt and Road initiative, you know, to maximize mutual benefit and complement?

Because we're talking about the cooperation is always mutual beneficial. For example, as Professor Do and Zoom mentioned that technology over the agriculture now transferred into the saturation country on the book for six directions. There were possibility for the fruits and the greens in the saturation countries that

the numbers will grow and the quality will upgrade it. Of course, that will be for sure. But also on the other hand, it also gives the motivation for Chinese, for example, experts as well as the pro-tolerance experts from the Central Asian countries, which will gain new experiences because we're talking about the technology, how to design them is one thing, but then how to implement it and how to reconsider and reflect the effects

of these technologies and experience is another thing. So that's why it also will make the technologies and the agricultural experiences further upgraded and further improved by according to this reality. So that's why I think it's a very small example of this kind of cooperation will benefit both of us.

because when we're talking about the assistance or cooperation, it does not mean that one side gives resources, money, and experience and technologies to the other side without any gain. It's actually, finally, this kind of positive circle could be established that some contributions should be made, but then some positive gains should also be achieved by the diverse. This would be the very positive and healthy

a circle for the bilateral and multilateral development rather than one side some contribution one side system that finally will harm everybody

Professor Wang, you are a leading expert on Afghanistan issues. The summit also made a point of addressing Afghanistan, calling for peace, infrastructure rebuilding and integration into the regional economy. Why would this spotlight it? And how does Afghanistan's future tie into the China Central Asia vision?

Afghanistan is a very co-shared vision or co-shared issue for not only China, but also for central Asian countries, because actually the borders, the internal sustainability, the internal security, internal stability has close ties with what's happening inside Afghanistan and also has very strong ties with what happened inside Afghanistan. And also if we're looking at what happened, for example, in Afghanistan, I see Afghanistan's new government under the leadership of the Taliban

Now they have the very strong willingness and the interest to join the original framework, the original mechanism, and then to share the slow-farther growth and the developments and to share the opportunity for the development in the future with China and saturation countries. So that's why I can say this fact of us saying both China and saturation countries realize the importance

and the urgencies for the Afghanistan issue in the hopes of exploring new opportunities, the chances to maybe coordinate with each other's stance over Afghanistan and see whether or not it is possible to further create a more healthy and positive environment for Afghanistan's economic and social development.

that's why it's well set up at a very solid foundation for the decrease of extremism and the dangerous factors at the indigenous region. So that's why I think Afghanistan has the willingness and some China's central Asian countries also have the shared views and share the willingness to do this. So that's why we say this is a good news and we hope that maybe more coordinating the market that will activities would be pushed forward.

Zun, you are also an expert on this. Why was Afghanistan's development specifically addressed in your opinion? And how does it relate to the broader regional vision shared by China and Central Asia? You know, we often say that Central Asia is the heart of Eurasian connectivity. But

Within this, Afghanistan is also the heart of the broader Central Asian region. Whether we talk about the fact that there is absolute proximity, whether we look at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, where Central Asia and South Asia strive to connect through different projects, but that's only possible with safe

with a stable Afghanistan. The entire region is affected by the current situation. I think, you know, in the past month and a half, we actually have seen promising developments. We had the trilateral foreign ministerial dialogue between, you know, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where there was positive outcomes. I think that these are steps forward. China is the country that has the capacity, the interest,

to invest in the region, including Afghanistan. So if we want to look at, you know, the current situation where Central Asian republics, individually seen as not very big countries, but together, they have come together to create countries

a situation where they have regional synergy, that very synergy can become exponential if there is a stable, peaceful Afghanistan that is on board and that extends the connectivity vision from

east to west, to north to south. That can actually imagine if the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor connects through Afghanistan to Central Asia, that can open a lot of opportunities to the Central Asian region to have access to warm waters in the south and to other parts of the world. So definitely,

Afghanistan's stability, all of that is vital to be able to unleash the region's potential. And good that it was mentioned because we are again talking about a long-term vision between China and Central Asia. And that long-term vision includes a lot of cooperation agreements, a lot of practical agreements we've already discussed, but it also includes that spirit.

that vision of a peaceful world, of a fair world, of a world where we want lasting solutions to the kinds of challenges that we have faced, that Afghanistan also faces today. So I think China and Central Asia are partners in at least moving towards peace and lasting solutions and therefore eventually connectivity, people-to-people connections in the Central Asia plus region, if we can call it that.

Thanks. That was really enlightening discussion. Thanks to all of our panelists. Zunna Matkan, Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization. Dr. Wang Jing, Associate Professor at Northwest University in Xi'an, China. Dr. Zhou Mi, Senior Research Fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. That's all the time we have for this edition of World Today. I'm your host, Ge'anna. Thank you so much for listening. Bye for now.