China s Xi signs treaty to elevate ties with Central Asia

BEIJING - China President Xi Jinping signed a treaty to elevate ties with Central Asian nations on June 17, as Beijing looks to further deepen cooperation on trade, energy and infrastructure with the resource-rich region.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Beijing has been stepping up efforts to boost economic links with Central Asian nations traditionally within Russia’s sphere of influence, drawn by their strategic location and energy resources.

At a regional summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana on June 17, Mr Xi, lauding a milestone, signed a treaty of “permanent good-neighbourliness and friendly cooperation” with leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

The summit this week is the second such gathering, following the pomp-filled, inaugural gathering in north-west China in 2023. Both occasions have coincided with meetings of Group of 7 (G-7) leaders.

“At present, the world is undergoing accelerating changes unseen in a century, entering a new period of turbulence and transformation,” Xinhua quoted Mr Xi as saying in a speech at the summit.

“Trade wars and tariff wars produce no winners, and unilateralism, protectionism, and hegemonism are bound to harm both others and oneself,” he said, in a thinly veiled swipe at the United States that had engaged in escalating tariffs with Beijing.

“China is ready to work with Central Asian countries to safeguard international justice, oppose hegemonism and power politics,” Mr Xi said.

He also pledged 1.5 billion yuan (S$268 million) in grant assistance to the Central Asian countries this year to support their livelihood and development projects, and called for more cooperation in areas including trade, minerals and agriculture.

Despite a trade truce with the US, Beijing has been keen to consolidate relations with its regional partners.

Chinas two-way trade with the five Central Asian countries reached a