BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 13. Relations between China and Central Asian countries have undergone a profound transformation, the Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Eldor Aripov, said, Trend reports.
He made the statement at the 13th Global Baku Forum on "Bridging Divides in a World in Transition."
“Ten years ago, China had already become the number one investor for all Central Asian countries. Last year, trade turnover between China and Central Asia reached a historic record level of $106 billion. And China's total investment in the region reached $40 billion,” he said.
Aripov stressed that this is not just about the economy. The entire architecture of China's cooperation with Central Asian countries is changing. Previously, cooperation was mainly bilateral, but today China has its own format - “Central Asia plus China” with a permanent secretariat.
“At the last summit of this format, China promised to provide Central Asian countries with $3.7 billion in loans and grants,” Aripov noted.
According to him, cooperation in the field of infrastructure is expanding, and new land transport corridors between China and Kazakhstan are being built, which help solve logistical problems in the region.
“In addition, China is expanding cooperation in other areas, such as security. Joint projects have begun to be implemented after many years of discussion,” Aripov said.