Global Impact: Xi Jinping rolls out the red carpet for Central Asian leaders as G7 vows to address China challenge

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While state leaders of the wealthy Group of Seven (G7) and their counterparts from guest nations gathered in Hiroshima last week to announce their plans to counter China’s “malign” practices and tackle economic coercion, President Xi Jinping was courting five Central Asian nations with promises of deals, boosting law enforcement, security and defence capability construction.

By the time Xi had wrapped up chairing of the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit, which took place in the symbolic city of Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, a grand plan that involved a total of 26 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) of financial support and grants had been announced.

Xi also called for the expansion of economic and trade ties and energy cooperation, including speeding up the construction of line D of the China-Central Asia gas pipeline.

Leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, who were holding their first-ever in person meetings under the new mechanism since establishing diplomatic ties in 1992, also pledged mutual support for each other’s core interests and approach to development.