Xi'an counter-summit with Central Asian countries

(ANSA) - BEIJING, 18 MAY - Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted the first of two days of the unprecedented summit between China and five former Soviet Central Asian countries, in a sort of counter-summit with respect to the G7 in Hiroshima that will officially open its doors tomorrow and involves the seven most advanced economies on the planet.
The Chinese initiative involved the leaders of five former Soviet republics – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan – all part of a region historically under Russian influence and under pressure after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The summit kicked off in the northern city of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, in Beijing's efforts to consolidate its influence in the area rich in raw materials, between gas and oil, thanks to a trade that reached 70 billion dollars in 2022 and which marked a further growth of 22% in the first quarter of 2023.
Central Asia has become the keystone for the Beltand Road Initiative, the New Silk Road wanted by Xi as a geopolitical infrastructure interconnection project worth billions of dollars. Speaking yesterday in a meeting with Xi, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev hailed the "unique scope" of that project. Tokayev was greeted with honors on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Tomorrow, however, there will be a press event in which the six presidents are expected to attend and a joint communiqué will be issued. (ANSA).