The first “China-Central Asia” Summit was held in China

On May 19, the first Summit of Heads of State “China – Central Asia” started in Xi’an, China. The summit was attended by the heads of state of Central Asia and the Chairman of China, Xi Jinping.

According to the press service of the President of Tajikistan, President Emomali Rahmon participated and spoke at the first Summit of Heads of State “China – Central Asia” in Xi’an.

It was reported that Chairman Xi Jinping noted that “to further strengthen cooperation on all issues of state development, China will pay serious attention to enhancing the institutionalization of this cooperation format.” He stated that for this purpose, “the Chinese side will allocate 26 billion yuan for the further implementation of programs and projects within the framework of the Summit.”

President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, who in 2011 transferred 1,158 hectares of Tajik land to China and during his 30-year rule transferred most of the deposits and mines to private and state Chinese companies in exchange for pennies, emphasized with “satisfaction” at the summit that “over the past three decades, the relations between Central Asian countries and China have rapidly developed based on mutual understanding, mutual respect, and trust. In this context, the meeting within the framework of the ‘China – Central Asia’ Summit can become unique and fruitful for expanding cooperation between our states.”

As a result of the first “China – Central Asia” Summit, the “Xi’an Declaration” was adopted, which reflects current regional issues and the main directions of cooperation between the participating states of this summit. A number of multilateral cooperation mechanisms in important socio-economic areas of development for the participating states of the Summit were also adopted, as noted in the report.