Qin Gang Holds Talks Respectively with Foreign Ministers of Five Central Asian Countries

On April 26, 2023, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks in Xi'an respectively with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Kulubaev Zheenbek Moldokanovich, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Saidov Bakhtiyor Odilovich, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Vepa Hajiyev. The ministers were in China for the fourth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

Qin Gang said that President Xi Jinping and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have agreed to build a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future defined by lasting friendship, a high degree of mutual trust and sharing weal and woe. Both sides should take this as fundamental guidance to enable the China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership to deliver more benefits to the two peoples.

Qin Gang said that China and Kyrgyzstan have achieved leapfrog development in their relationship and become comprehensive strategic partners true to the name. The two sides should harness the role of the China- Kyrgyzstan Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation. China supports Kyrgyzstan in hosting a successful meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this year.

Qin Gang said that China and Tajikistan are ironclad friends. Last year, President Xi Jinping and President Emomali Rahmon had a successful meeting, during which they reached a series of important common understandings. The two sides should follow through on the common understandings, consolidate political mutual trust, and join hands to promote the building of a development community and a security community between China and Tajikistan.

Qin Gang said that China-Uzbekistan relations have reached an unprecedented height. The two sides should follow the strategic common understandings reached between the two heads of state, continuously move towards the vision of building a China-Uzbekistan community with a shared future, and strive for more fruitful outcomes in the mutually beneficial cooperation across the board between China and Uzbekistan.

Qin Gang said that at the beginning of this year, President Xi Jinping and President Serdar Berdimuhamedov jointly announced the decision to elevate the China-Turkmenistan relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership and practice the vision of a community with a shared future at the bilateral level. That ushered in a new era of bilateral relations. The two sides should follow the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, and continuously elevate China-Turkmenistan relations to new heights.

Qin Gang stressed that China will, as always, firmly support the Central Asian countries in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence, security, and territorial integrity. China also firmly supports the development paths independently chosen by the Central Asian countries in line with their national conditions. China resolutely opposes any external forces interfering in the internal affairs of the Central Asian countries. China will step up communication and coordination between the two sides within such frameworks as the United Nations (UN) and the SCO, and jointly safeguard the basic norms governing international relations, the UN-centered international system, and international fairness and justice.

Foreign ministers of the five countries said that over the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and the five countries have committed themselves to good-neighborliness, friendship, mutual respect, mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation. The relationships have brought benefits to the people of both sides and become a stabilizing anchor and a propeller for regional peace and development. Taking developing relations with China as a priority in their diplomacy, the five countries will follow through on the important common understandings between the heads of state, maintain close high-level exchanges between the two sides, advance Belt and Road cooperation, deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and crack down on the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism, so as to forge the next golden three decades of China-Centra Asia relations. Noting China's remarkable international influence, they said Chinese modernization will bring new opportunities to Central Asia and the world at large. The five Central Asian countries support the global initiatives and visions proposed by China, support China's justified position on the Taiwan question and issues related to Xinjiang and Xizang, among others, and oppose politicizing human rights. The five Central Asian countries will work with China to strengthen multilateral international cooperation, and support each other in safeguarding core interests and regional peace and stability. They expressed confidence that the Foreign Ministers' Meeting on the next day will be a complete success.

The two sides reached extensive common understandings on deepening and substantiating practical cooperation. Efforts will be made to strengthen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, investment, connectivity, green agriculture, medical and health care, energy and mineral resources, and cargo transit at ports, as well as at sub-national levels and among sister cities. China and Kazakhstan will take the signing of an agreement on mutual visa exemption as an opportunity to facilitate cross-border travel and set up consulates general in Xi'an and Aktobe, respectively. China will work with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan respectively to open cultural centers in each other's countries. China and Tajikistan will expand industrial-park cooperation, and fully leverage the strength of the Luban Workshop in Tajikistan, the first of its kind in Central Asia. China and Uzbekistan will advance the building of a comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era, and forge new highlights of cooperation such as poverty reduction and innovation. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will work with China to accelerate the feasibility study of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway. China and Turkmenistan will well plan the Year of Culture events in each other's country and speed up efforts to establish a traditional medical center in Turkmenistan.