How Xi Jinping is challenging G7 dominance with a China-Central Asia summit

As the Group of Seven (G7) leaders meet in Japan, China is holding its own summit. Chinese president Xi Jinping is hosting the first-ever in-person meeting of five Central Asian nations in Xian, the capital of the northwestern province of Shaanxi. The summit comes as China is making efforts to bolster ties and economic cooperation with its Central Asian neighbours. Who all are attending, what was discussed at the meeting and why is the summit significant? We explain. China-Central Asia Summit The two-day summit, which will end on Friday (19 May), is being attended by leaders of five Central Asian countries – Turkmenistan president Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Tajikistan’s Emomali Rahmon, Uzbekistan’s Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kyrgyzstan’s Sadyr Japarov and Kazakhstan president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. On the sidelines of the summit, Xi also held bilateral talks with the leaders. Boosting trade and ties From the proposals for building more infrastructure to increasing trade, Xi laid out plans for Central Asia’s development at the summit. “We need to expand economic and trade ties,” Xi said in a speech to Central Asian leaders, reported Associated Press (AP). He also mentioned that China and Central Asian countries should enhance trust and offer “clear and strong support” on “core interests such as sovereignty, independence, national dignity and long-term development”, reported Reuters. “China is ready to help Central Asian countries improve their law enforcement, security, and defence capability construction,” the premier added. [caption id=“attachment_12619652” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The meeting comes at a time when China is making efforts to bolster ties with its Central Asian neighbours. AP[/caption] As per the report, Xi announced that Beijing will enhance bilateral investment agreements and ramp up cross-border freight volume with the region. “To bolster our cooperation and Central Asian development, China will provide Central Asian countries with a total of 26 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) of financing support and grants,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters. He vowed to boost two-way trade by encouraging Chinese trading companies to establish warehouses in Central Asia and build a special train service to promote tourism, as per reports.

Last year, the trade between China and the Central Asian countries reached a record-high of $70 billion.

He also pledged China’s assistance to the five countries to build up security and defense and to fight terrorism. The Chinese leader promised to “jointly promote peace” in Afghanistan. Xi proposed to jointly develop oil and gas sources with the region, noted AP. He spoke about advancing the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline, as well as called on the Central Asian leaders to “develop energy cooperation across industrial chains, and boost cooperation on new energy and the peaceful use of nuclear energy”, according to the Reuters report. “This summit has added new impetus to the development and revitalisation of the six counties, and injected strong positive energy into regional peace and stability,” the Chinese leader later said, addressing a press conference along with his Central Asian counterparts. “We will jointly foster a new paradigm of deeply complementary and high-level win-win cooperation”, Reuters quoted him as saying. ALSO READ: A Tragic Past: 1945 bombing of Hiroshima looms large as G7 leaders meet in Japan Significance amid Russia-Ukraine war With these Central Asian countries being former Soviet republics, the region has been considered, as CNN put it, Russia’s “sphere of influence”. Xi is seeking to expand China’s sway in the resource-rich region as these nations are crucial to its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and curb America’s dominance on the global stage. The summit being held in Xian also assumes importance as it once marked the eastern starting point of the Silk Road – the ancient trade route linking China with Central Asia and the Mediterranean, noted Foreign Policy. As Russia remains preoccupied with the war it started in Ukraine, China is wooing these nations with the promise of improving trade and investment. On the other hand, China relies on Central Asia for energy products such as coal, crude oil and natural gas.

“The most important context of this summit is the Ukraine war and the region’s uncertainty with Russia’s future commitment, influence and role in the region,” Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, told CNN. “ Central Asia is always seen as Russia’s backyard, and China has been expanding its influence in the region … and there are new aspirations and directions for China-Central Asia relations – opportunities that were not present or available in the past,” she added. China, which is aiming for the role of peacemaker between Moscow and Kyiv amid Western concerns, may also use the summit to bring Central Asian leaders on its side, experts say. The summit is “a good opportunity for China (to try to) win support from these countries on China’s approach in terms of mediating the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Li Mingjiang, an associate professor of international relations at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, was quoted as saying CNN. “Their support of China’s initiative would be quite significant,” Li added. But analysts believe these nations are unlikely to promote any specific proposals by China on the war. Besides Beijing’s increasing “threat”, the Ukraine war will also be on the agenda of the G7 leaders. Meanwhile, as there are growing fears in Central Asia about Russia’s intentions in the region in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, “China has made attempts to reassure them over their sovereignty”, Bradley Jardine, the managing director of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs in Washington, DC told Al Jazeera. “China knows that Russia is no longer in a position to provide anything that Central Asia desires: be that international prestige, economic cooperation or security cooperation,” Niva Yau, nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “Working with China is still a preference.” [caption id=“attachment_12619662” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Xi Jinping is seeking to expand China’s influence in Central Asia. Reuters[/caption] However, some analysts point out that China’s increasing influence does not mean that Russia is falling behind. Li Yongquan, director of Eurasian research at China’s Development Research Center of the State Council, told the state-run Global Times that “for 30 years, Central Asia has been situated in a complicated geopolitical atmosphere. One of the reasons why regional countries can thrive despite the multiple unstable factors is because China and Russia have cooperated on maintaining safety and stability in the region. China and Russia have a shared interest in this issue.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.