Commentary: 30-year cooperation energizes China, Central Asian countries for brighter future

BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a virtual summit on Tuesday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The past 30 years have witnessed remarkable development of their ties, which have served as an example of a new type of international relations. Building on past breakthroughs and achievements, China and Central Asian countries are embracing a brighter future.

Three decades ago, China was among the first countries to set up diplomatic ties with the five countries following their independence, heralding a new era of friendly exchanges based on mutual respect and equal treatment. Over the years, they have firmly supported each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and respected the countries' exploration of their own development paths.

From good-neighborly and friendly relations to strategic partnerships, China and Central Asian countries have witnessed deepening mutual political trust and increasing connectivity.

In the common pursuit of security and development, they have joined hands to combat the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism as well as drug trafficking and transnational organized crime within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization mechanism, creating a favorable environment for the economic development and the well-being of the people in the region.

The past three decades also mark booming trade and economic cooperation. According to data released last week by China's Ministry of Commerce, trade between China and Central Asian nations has grown by more than 100 times from 30 years ago, with the stocks of China's direct investment in the five countries exceeding 14 billion U.S. dollars.

It was in Kazakhstan that Xi proposed the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt, a component of the landmark Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which also includes the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, steering partner countries on a fast lane of common development under the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

Over the years, the BRI cooperation has unfolded with a number of landmark projects, for example the China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline, the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, the Central Asia's largest wind farm in Kazakhstan and the China-Europe freight trains transiting through the region.

And cooperation remains unimpeded despite COVID-19. China and Central Asian countries have stood together and supported each other in response to the common challenge. From offering medical supplies to sending expert teams and providing vaccines, they have been building a community of health with concrete actions.

Over the 30 years, thriving people-to-people and cultural exchanges have been carried out among universities, think tanks and media, and in cultural heritage preservation, literary and art works translation as well as films and publishing cooperation.

Xi stated at the virtual summit that principles of mutual respect, good neighborliness and friendship, solidarity, and mutual benefit are the keys to the successful cooperation between China and five Central Asian countries, and valuable experience and shared wealth for the countries.

At a historic starting point, China stands ready to work with Central Asian countries to build on past achievements, forge ahead and rise to common challenges such as persisting hegemony, rising protectionism and unilateralism, and interference of external forces.

Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic and changes unseen in a century, it is in the common interests of China and Central Asian countries to work in solidarity as a builder of world peace, an advocate of multilateralism, a defender of the international order, and a practitioner of mutual benefit and win-win results, and actively promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.