Chinese President Xi Jinping highlights the futility of trade and tariff wars
BEIJING: President Xi Jinping of China signed an agreement on Tuesday to strengthen relationships with nations in Central Asia. China aims to expand partnerships in trade, energy, and infrastructure across this resource-abundant region.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has pushed Beijing to increase efforts in building stronger economic ties with Central Asian countries. These nations influenced by Russia, hold strategic importance and offer valuable energy resources.
During a meeting on Tuesday in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, Xi marked an important moment by signing a treaty called “permanent good-neighbourliness and friendly cooperation” with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This information came from China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.
This week marks the second regional summit of its kind. The first, which was filled with grand ceremonies, took place in northwest China in 2023. Both these summits have aligned with the timing of G7 leader gatherings.
Xinhua quoted Xi’s speech during the event where he said that the world is now facing faster-paced changes not seen in a century entering a time of growing instability and transformation.
“Trade wars and tariff battles bring no winners. Unilateral actions protectionist policies, and attempts to dominate end up hurting everyone involved,” he stated. His remark appeared to be a subtle critique of the United States, which had been raising tariffs in its ongoing disputes with Beijing.
“China is willing to collaborate with Central Asian nations to uphold global justice and stand against dominance and power struggles,” Xi declared.
He also promised 1.5 billion yuan, which is about $208.86 million, in aid to Central Asian nations this year. This funding aims to improve their livelihoods and advance development projects. He urged stronger partnerships in sectors like trade, mineral resources, and agriculture.
Although China reached a trade truce with the US, it has shown a strong interest in building closer ties with neighboring regional partners.
China’s trade with the five Central Asian nations hit 286.42 billion yuan during the first five months of this year. This marks a 10.4 percent rise compared to the same period last year, according to Xinhua, which cited data from Chinese Customs.
Turkmenistan remains China’s primary natural gas supplier and is the only Central Asian country that sees a trade surplus in its dealings with China. In contrast, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan carry trade deficits with China that reach tens of billions.
Cooperation on energy and minerals
During bilateral talks with regional leaders, Xi urged deeper ties in areas like natural gas, mineral resources global railways, and policing. The summaries of these discussions were shared by the Chinese foreign ministry.
He met with the presidents of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday and pushed to advance the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. This overland route goes around Russia.
