China is ready to work with Central Asian countries to accelerate common development through win-win cooperation and deliver more benefits to the relevant countries and their people, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a media interview after concluding his visit to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, where he held strategic dialogues with their respective foreign ministers from November 19 to 22, The Caspian Post informs via CGTN.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told the media that he briefed the foreign ministers of the three countries on the significance and key elements of the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).
China's commitment to high-quality development and high-standard opening up will create new development opportunities and cooperation space for neighboring countries, including those in Central Asia, and countries around the world, Wang said.
The three countries highly recognize China's successful governance model, are willing to learn from China's experience in state governance and administration, and look forward to China providing more certainty and stability for countries in the region and the wider world, he said.
Noting that next year will mark the beginning of China's 15th Five-Year Plan, Wang said that China will take it as an opportunity to build an even closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.
The three Central Asian countries highly appreciate the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, believing that these major initiatives meet the general aspirations of people across the world and the pressing needs of today's world, said the Chinese foreign minister.
The three countries confirmed that they will join the group of friends for global governance and the International Organization for Mediation as soon as possible, Wang said, adding that China welcomes a greater role played by Central Asian countries in international and regional affairs.
China-Central Asia trade has been growing, and China has become Central Asia's largest trading partner, Wang said. In the first three quarters of this year, two-way trade between China and the five Central Asian countries was nearly $80 billion, up 15.6 percent year on year, and the figure for the whole year is expected to exceed $100 billion, he said.
Wang said that China-Central Asia investment is also expanding. China has become a major source of investment for Central Asian countries, he said, adding that to date, China's total investment in Central Asian countries has exceeded $50 billion.
People-to-people exchanges between China and Central Asia are booming, Wang said. In the first three quarters of this year, the number of travelers from the five Central Asian countries to China increased by 37.7 percent year on year, and the number of travelers from the Chinese mainland to Central Asia increased by 50 percent year on year, he said.
Compared with other C5+1 mechanisms, the defining feature of China-Central Asia cooperation is that they are close neighbors just like family; the biggest strength is that they need and complement each other and the greatest consensus is on mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, Wang said.
China and Central Asian countries always adhere to the principles of treating all countries equally, regardless of size, and making decisions through consultation and consensus; they always uphold mutual trust and support, with cooperation never tied to any political conditions; they are always committed to common development, working together to address various risks and challenges and safeguarding regional security collectively, Wang said.
