The International Institute for Central Asia in Tashkent hosted a roundtable discussion on “Belt and Road: New Opportunities for Central Asian Countries” with the participation of the heads of diplomatic missions of Central Asian countries and the People’s Republic of China, representatives of leading think tanks and research institutes, foreign and domestic experts.

At the event dedicated to the upcoming third Forum for International Cooperation “Belt and Road” (BRI), with the participation of heads of state, which will be held on October 17-18 this year in Beijing, the current state and prospects for cooperation between Central Asian countries and China were discussed, in particular, in politics, economics, trade, investment, energy, climate change, water conservation, green technologies, education and culture.

The participants emphasized the importance of cooperation within the framework of this global initiative and noted that over the past 10 years, significant results have been achieved in constructing international corridors and routes for economic cooperation.

Thus, during this period, the trade volume in goods doubled from $1.04 trillion to $2.07 trillion. The average annual growth rate was 8 percent, and the volume of bilateral investments was $270 billion.

Last year, China’s trade turnover with the region’s countries amounted to $70.2 billion, an increase of 50 percent compared to 2021. China has invested more than $70 billion in the region’s countries.

The Summit of the Heads of State of Central Asia and the People’s Republic of China, held on May 18-19 this year in Xi'an, as well as the Xi'an Declaration, signed following the summit, once again confirmed the commitment of the parties to strengthen the BRI and link it with the national development strategies of the fraternal countries.

At the summit in Xi'an, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan noted that in the year of the tenth anniversary of the BRI, good traditions are being revived here, in the famous Chang'an in the East. A solid foundation is being laid for the joint prosperity of Central Asian countries and China in a new era.

The roundtable discussion made it possible to discuss at the expert level the particular importance and relevance of the Belt and Road project for the countries of Central Asia and China and to develop proposals aimed at further developing cooperation between the two regions.

Bekhruz Khudoyberdiyev, UzA