Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to visit Kyrgyzstan next week, as Beijing seeks to deepen ties with the geopolitically important region.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang. (Source: Reuters) |
On October 20, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning announced that Premier Li Qiang will visit Kyrgyzstan from October 24-26, as well as attend a meeting of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
China is continuing to push large-scale infrastructure projects in Central Asia to fill the void left by Russia in former Soviet states, analysts say.
The region is a key link in Beijing’s multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, and two-way trade between China and Central Asia reached $70 billion last year.
In May 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Central Asian leaders at the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
There, the Chinese leader called on five Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - to "fully unleash" their potential in trade, economic and infrastructure cooperation.
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