The second China-Central Asia summit will be held from the 16th to the 18th in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. This meeting includes five Central Asian ‘Stan’ countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. According to China’s official China Daily, experts believe that this summit, amid the ongoing China-U.S. tariff war, will reaffirm support for multilateralism and rules-based international trade.
The participating leaders are expected to work towards establishing a common stance against protectionism within the framework of their cooperation mechanism. Sun Weidong, secretary-general of the summit, noted that the first China-Central Asia summit last May in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, marked a milestone in friendly exchanges between the two sides. Under the leadership of the six countries’ leaders, Sun mentioned that the relationship between China and Central Asia has developed strongly, with the scope of cooperation expanding across various fields.
It is anticipated that the Astana Declaration, summarizing their successful cooperative experiences, will be announced at this second summit, along with the signing of several documents. The China-Central Asia mechanism was launched in 2020, and among the five Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan share a border with China, spanning approximately 3,000 km.
Following the first summit two years ago, the trade, cultural, and human exchanges in the region have been effectively promoted through the Belt and Road cooperation. In 2024, China’s trade volume with Central Asia reached a historical high of $94.8 billion, according to the newspaper. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated on the 13th that the summit in Astana would further solidify mutual trust and deepen strategic synergy between China and the five Central Asian countries.
Moreover, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway construction project began in December of last year. This border railway, starting from Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, passing through Kyrgyzstan, and entering Uzbekistan, stretches approximately 523 km, with 213 km within China. The project, with a construction cost of around $8 billion, is scheduled to commence next month and aims for completion by 2030.
This railway project is expected to secure a direct route for China into Central Asia and Xinjiang, reducing the three countries’ reliance on Russia’s transportation network. Russia is closely monitoring China’s strengthening economic cooperation with the Central Asian countries with suspicion. As these countries, formerly under Soviet influence, forge deeper ties with China within the Belt and Road framework, the centrifugal force naturally increases.
While Russia is engrossed in the war with Ukraine, China is expanding its influence in Central Asia, which it views as its backyard, by establishing a summit mechanism separate from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).