Global Times: Xi meets Tokayev, calls on two nations to promote cooperation

BEIJING, June 16, 2025 Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Monday with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ahead of the second China-Central Asia Summit. Xi said that China stands ready to work with Kazakhstan to contribute more to regional and world peace and development with stability and positive energy of bilateral ties.

Xi said China and Kazakhstan should continue to support each other on issues involving core interests and major concerns, and promote synergy of the development strategies.

He called on both countries to expand law enforcement and defense exchanges, jointly combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, and added that the two sides should promote connectivity, high-tech cooperation and green development.

Xi said China and Kazakhstan should practice true multilateralism, safeguard common interests of developing countries. He called on China, Kazakhstan to safeguard international system with UN at its core, and international order underpinned by international law, according to Xinhua.

Tokayev said China is a friendly neighbor, close friend and reliable partner of Kazakhstan, Xinhua reported.

The two leaders attended a ceremony of exchanging cooperation documents.

Xi arrived in the Kazakh capital of Astana earlier Monday to attend the second China-Central Asia Summit. He was welcomed by Tokayev and other senior officials at the airport.

After Xi's plane entered Kazakh airspace, fighter jets of Kazakhstan's air defense forces took off to escort it.

Kazakh teenagers and children, holding the national flags of China and Kazakhstan, warmly welcomed Xi's visit.

Accompanied by Tokayev, Xi watched the march-past performed by the guard of honor, as helicopters bearing the flags of both countries flew over the airport. Inside the airport VIP lounge, the two heads of state also enjoyed performances by Kazakh teenagers and children.

Fellow travelers 

Kazakhstan's Ambassador to China, Shakhrat Nuryshev, told the Global Times in a recent exclusive interview that the most important driving force behind relations between China and Kazakhstan is head-of-state diplomacy, noting that he believes Xi's visit to the summit "will open new horizons for bilateral cooperation."

"Today, Kazakhstan is China's largest trading partner in Central Asia, with bilateral trade reaching a record $43.8 billion in 2024. We are working together to double this figure in the coming years, a goal that we believe is achievable through the synergy of the BRI and Kazakhstan's new economic policy," said the ambassador. "We highly value China's efforts in strengthening regional connectivity, developing infrastructure, advancing technological exchanges, and fostering people-to-people dialogue."

Walking the streets of Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, it is not hard to encounter Chinese influences in daily life: Chinese smartphones, new energy vehicles, small goods delivered directly by Chinese e-commerce platforms, and the efficiency of Chinese-made light rail systems, which astonish locals.

In Astana, an 18-meter-long high-end pure electric bus built by a Chinese company has become a beautiful landscape. It is not only able to withstand the severe cold of minus 40 degrees Celsius in Astana's winter, but also features a strong sense of technology and safety, providing robust support for the development of green transportation across Central Asia.

Meanwhile, the growing enthusiasm for learning Chinese and deepening people-to-people exchanges have become significant markers of the mutual affinity between China and Kazakhstan.

On Monday, coinciding with the upcoming Second China-Central Asia Summit, a key event of Kazakhstan's "China Tourism Year"—the "Silk and Silk Road: From China to Kazakhstan" exhibition—opened at the National Museum of Kazakhstan. At the event, many local teenagers and Kazakh students from the Confucius Institute in Astana performed in Hanfu, or traditional Chinese attire, and experienced different aspects of Chinese culture such as embroidery and batik. This also specifically demonstrates a new chapter of glory for the new era's Silk Road, a millennia-old corridor linking East and West.

"Over the past two years, China and Kazakhstan have achieved remarkable progress in cultural and people-to-people cooperation, with last year's 'Kazakhstan Tourism Year in China' serving as a striking example," Aibek Zheksenaliyevich Sydykov, the Vice Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan who attended the event's opening ceremony, told the Global Times on Monday.

"The Second China-Central Asia Summit, a major event of international significance, holds great promise, and we anticipate substantial positive outcomes, especially in the cultural sector. More importantly, we hope to further strengthen and deepen the friendly relations between our two nations," said the official.

Ding Xiaoxing, director of the Institute of Eurasia Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that over the past two years, China has consistently supported Kazakhstan in advancing modernization and economic diversification.

"The convergence of China's modernization efforts and Kazakhstan's National Development Plan until 2029 offers vast opportunities for cooperation, underscoring that the two nations are fellow travelers on the path to modernization."

"The mutual visa exemption between China and Kazakhstan has significantly boosted people-to-people exchanges, particularly in tourism, contributing to the comprehensive development of their permanent comprehensive strategic partnership over the past two years," said Ding.

The warm welcome and expectations of the Kazakh people for the summit reflect their desire to build a closer community with a shared future with China, and the same applies to other Central Asian countries, he noted.

Strategic crossroads 

The 2023 Xi'an summit marked the first-ever meeting of heads of state under the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism. A highlight of the Xi'an summit was the signing of the Xi'an Declaration, in which Xi and the presidents of the five Central Asian countries vowed to work together to build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future, Xinhua reported.

Xi places great importance on China's ties with the region. In his view, Central Asia pulses at a strategic crossroads, linking East and West, North and South.

"China's relationship with Central Asia has flourished steadily over the past two years since the first summit. This summit is poised to enhance cooperation across various fields, strengthen strategic mutual trust, and promote joint development between China and Central Asia," said Ding.

"Following the central conference on work relating to neighboring countries held in April, this summit with President Xi's attendance represents a major diplomatic outreach and a concrete implementation of the conference's initiatives. It is expected to yield successful outcomes," said the scholar.

"We believe this Summit will mark a crucial step toward building a unified space of cooperation and trust across Eurasia. This mechanism, based on mutual respect and balanced interests, opens genuine prospects for sustainable development, improved well-being for our peoples, and regional stability," said Ambassador Nuryshev.

SOURCE Global Times