A Summit That Raised the Bar
Last week in Astana, the second China-Central Asia Summit closed with a wave of historic agreements. Leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, endorsed the Astana Declaration and the Treaty of Permanent Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. These pacts set the tone for a fresh chapter of collaboration across security, trade, tech and culture.
Highlights: Deeper Trust and Big Ideas
- China-Central Asia Spirit: For the first time, the Astana Declaration coined this concept, championing mutual respect, trust, benefit and assistance on the path to high-quality modernization.
- Trade Takes Off: With a focus on streamlined procedures and diversified structures, bilateral trade soared from 312.04 billion yuan in 2013 to 674.15 billion yuan in 2024 – outpacing China's overall growth.
- Green Minerals & AI: Partner countries agreed to explore sustainable mining across the value chain and join the Group of Friends on International Cooperation on AI Capacity Building, following a UN resolution.
- Multilateralism: All parties reaffirmed commitment to global cooperation frameworks, underscoring shared goals on the world stage.
New Hubs for Impact
Among 110 outcomes were plans for four flagship institutions:
- Poverty Reduction Cooperation Center: Building on China-Uzbekistan success, where poverty fell from 11% to 8.9% in a year, this hub aims to share governance insights regionwide.
- Education Exchange Cooperation Center: With over 1.2 million cross-border visits last year, new scholarships, a university alliance and ministers' meetings will deepen people-to-people ties.
- Desertification Control Cooperation Center: Tackling water scarcity and land degradation through joint research, irrigation innovation and Belt and Road technologies.
- Smooth Trade Cooperation Platform: Designed to ease cross-border flows, it will fast-track high-quality green products and premium mineral imports from Central Asia.
Looking Ahead
As these institutions take shape, young global citizens, entrepreneurs and changemakers have fresh opportunities to connect. Whether you're tracking green-tech startups or exploring new study-abroad paths, the 2nd China-Central Asia Summit lays out a blueprint for shared growth – where data-driven policies meet human stories across continents.
Reference(s):
Q&A: Expert on key outcomes of 2nd China-Central Asia Summit (Part I)
cgtn.com
