Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- More than 2,000 years ago, an emissary from the Chinese Han Dynasty traveled west on a peaceful mission and discovered a land route linking East and West. Thousands of miles and years long, the ancient Silk Road, the longest part of which ran through the territory of Central Asia, embodied the spirit of cooperation, mutual learning and mutual benefit, Xinhua news agency reported.

Since Beijing launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China and the five countries of Central Asia -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan -- have stepped up their cooperation for more rapid regional development. Last week, they held the first-ever Industrial and Investment Cooperation Forum, which updated the centuries-old Silk Road.

In a congratulatory letter addressed to the participants of the two-day forum, which opened on Thursday in the coastal city of Qingdao in east China, President Xi Jinping said that deepening industrial and investment cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries will ensure the stability of regional industrial chains and supply chains, will promote regional industrial development, increase participation in world economic activity and promote common prosperity.

GENERAL DEVELOPMENT

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations three decades ago, China and the five Central Asian countries have developed a strategic partnership and embarked on a new path of good neighborliness, friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation, which served as an example for the development of a new type of international relations.

Focusing on promoting the quality development of the regional economy through mutually beneficial cooperation, the forum brought together representatives of political and business circles seeking to expand cooperation in sectors such as the digital economy, energy and agriculture.

The idea of holding the forum arose at the online summit on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five countries of Central Asia, held on 25 January 2022. Then Xi Jinping took the initiative to hold the forum.

During the summit, which marked the first collective meeting between the leaders of China and the five Central Asian countries, Xi Jinping called on the six countries to strengthen the exemplary role of good neighborly friendship, create a cooperation belt for quality development, strengthen the shield to protect peace, build a family with diverse interactions, and protect peaceful and developing "global village".

The five-point proposal was approved by the leaders of the five Central Asian countries. Under their leadership, relations between China and the countries of Central Asia have gained new momentum.

Official data showed that China’s trade with the five Central Asian countries was US$70.2 billion in 2022, about 100 times the volume 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, as the Belt and Road Initiative has become a popular international public good and platform for international cooperation, China and Central Asian countries have successfully implemented many infrastructure projects under the initiative.

As Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory letter to the forum participants, China is ready to share with the Central Asian countries a super-large market, an integral production system and advanced technologies, deepen pragmatic cooperation, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, work together to promote the qualitative development of the regional economy and build a closer community with a shared destiny.

COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF AGRICULTURE AND ENERGY

Agriculture is an important area of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries. A wide variety of agricultural products from the region enter the Chinese market, including camel milk from Kazakhstan, honey from Kyrgyzstan, dried fruits from Tajikistan, cotton from Turkmenistan, and cherries from Uzbekistan.

The first China + Central Asia Industrial and Investment Cooperation Forum provided agricultural companies from both sides with another opportunity to expand their business.

"I’m looking for a supplier from Central Asia with the freshest nuts here," said Wang Baohua, manager of Jingxiang Food Technology Co., Ltd., which produces mainly sesame paste and other condiments in Heze City, Shandong Province.

The company, which has been importing sunflower and sesame seeds from Central Asia for years, is expected to increase its production capacity tenfold this year and plans to open a plant and carry out technical cooperation in Central Asia.

Another area where there has been an increase in cooperation between China and Central Asia is energy.

Tajikistan has suffered from severe power shortages in the winter for years as the country relied on hydroelectric power, which saw its use dwindle during the dry season.

In 2011, the Government of Tajikistan and the Chinese energy company TBEA jointly launched the Dushanbe-2 thermal power plant project, a combined heat and power plant with a total installed capacity of 400 megawatts. The station, which was completed in 2016, allowed the restoration of central heating for Dushanbe residents after a 15-year hiatus.

In Uzbekistan, a chemical industry cooperation project under the Belt and Road Initiative has changed the country’s dependence on PVC and caustic soda imports, and created a large number of new jobs, which has become important for the country’s economic development.

So far, China and the five Central Asian countries have agreed to launch dozens of major manufacturing capacity cooperation projects covering automotive, energy, metallurgy, chemicals and medicine, with a total investment of over US$20 billion.

INTERCONNECTIVITY

Since the Belt and Road Initiative was launched in 2013, it has actively promoted interconnectedness among participating countries and promoted regional economic development, especially in landlocked Central Asia.

During Xi Jinping’s state visit to Uzbekistan in September 2022, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the Kyrgyz section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, making significant progress in building a transport corridor on the Eurasian continent.

China-Europe freight trains running through Central Asia, the China-Kazakhstan International Center for Cross-Border Cooperation in Khorgos, the China-Kazakhstan International Logistics Base in Lianyungang Port have all helped open the doors to global markets for Central Asian countries. Increasing connectivity has also prompted many Chinese companies to invest in the region.

At the end of 2016, the Chinese company Xi’an Aiju Grain and Oil Industrial Group completed the construction of an oil processing plant with a capacity of 300 thousand tons in Kazakhstan. Liu Dongmeng, deputy general manager of the company, told Xinhua that a contract for 100,000 ha/1,000 sq. m. km/ of land in the north of Kazakhstan for transnational contract farming.

He recalled that back in March 2016, the company imported 2,000 tons of high-quality GMO-free oil from Kazakhstan.

"We are the beneficiaries of the construction of the Belt and Road," said Liu Dongmeng, adding that the firm has also set up a joint laboratory with China’s Northwestern University of Agriculture and Forestry and the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University.

With the completion of a number of facilities, a comprehensive network is being formed linking China and the five countries of Central Asia. The network, which includes roads, railways, aviation, and oil and gas pipelines, contributes to the stability of production and supply chains in Asia and Europe.

The Belt and Road projects have demonstrated how effective cooperation can turn the concept of “building a community with a common destiny for mankind” into a practical reality, said well-known Kazakhstani economist Almas Chukin.

"The idea of President Xi Jinping is that through joint efforts and understanding of a community with a common destiny for mankind, we are in a win-win situation ... and this ensures the prosperity of all countries that can develop and work together," the expert emphasized.