The Connotation and Path of Building a China-Central Asia Community of Shared Future

In January 2022， President Xi Jinping proposed building a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future at the virtual summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of the founding of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries. In May 2023， President Xi Jinping attended the China-Central Asia Summit and delivered a keynote speech， pointing out that in building a China-Central Asia community with a shared future， all parties need to stay committed to four principles， namely， “mutual assistance， common development， universal security and everlasting friendship.” The above ideas and measures are not only of milestone significance in promoting the development of relations between China and Central Asian countries， but also a demonstration for building a new type of international relations in theory and practice.

Historical Evolution： From Strategic Partnership to Community of Shared Future

With the fundamental changes in the international landscape and the prolonged crisis in Ukraine， Central Asian countries are facing the realistic pressure of a worsening external environment. The leaders of China and Central Asian countries have assessed the situation， actively responded to various severe challenges， strengthened bilateral and multilateral interactions， promoted development through cooperation and jointly maintained regional peace. On the basis of high-level political relations， China and Central Asian countries have comprehensively upgraded their strategic partnership and committed themselves to regional stability and common prosperity.

In January 1992， China formally established diplomatic relations with the five Central Asian countries. At that time， China’s focus of the development of relations with Central Asian countries was to establish political mutual trust and steadily build a new type of good-neighborly and friendly relations. As an important direction of China’s neighborhood diplomacy， Central Asia occupies a very important position in China’s overall diplomacy. In many high-level visits， Chinese leaders have clearly explained the basic policy towards Central Asia， emphasizing the development of equal and mutually beneficial cooperative relations with Central Asian countries by valuing the history as a bond， reviving the “Silk Road”， and expanding transportation and trade exchanges.

Through the joint efforts of both sides， the political relations between China and Central Asian countries have been steadily improved. Firstly， guided by the head-of-state diplomacy， both sides have continuously strengthened the exchanges of various departments in a wide range of fields and at multiple levels， and established a stable intergovernmental cooperation mechanism. Secondly， after many rounds of consultations and negotiations， China has successively resolved the border issues left over from history with Kazakhstan， Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan， and created a “new border of peace and friendship”. Thirdly， a series of important legal documents have been signed. China has successively signed treaties of good-neighborliness， friendship and cooperation with Kazakhstan， Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan， and a treaty of friendship and cooperation with Uzbekistan， emphasizing mutual respect for the development path chosen by each country according to its national conditions， and ensuring the long-term and stable development of bilateral relations. Finally， all parties support each other in regional and international affairs， and the two sides actively cooperate within multilateral frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

China and Kazakhstan took the lead in establishing a strategic partnership in July 2005， which developed into a comprehensive strategic partnership in June 2011. In June 2012， China and Uzbekistan established a strategic partnership. In 2013， China announced the establishment of a strategic partnership successively with Tajikistan， Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. After that， China established comprehensive strategic partnerships with Uzbekistan （June 2016）， Tajikistan （August 2017）， Kyrgyzstan （June 2018） and Turkmenistan （January 2023）. In September 2019， China and Kazakhstan decided to develop a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership; in May 2023， China and Kyrgyzstan established a comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era; in January 2024， China and Uzbekistan announced the establishment of an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era; in early July 2024， China and Tajikistan decided to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era.

China and Central Asian countries have also actively promoted the building of a community of shared future bilaterally， which soon covered all of the regional countries. At the virtual summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of the founding of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries， President Xi Jinping emphasized that the key to the successful cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries over the past three decades lies in our abiding commitment to mutual respect， good-neighborly friendship， solidarity in trying times， and mutual benefit. These principles are a valuable experience and shared asset China and Central Asian countries have gained from cooperation， a political guarantee for a steady and sustained growth of China’s relations with Central Asian countries， and a source of inspiration to further advance friendly exchanges and to jointly build a community of shared future.

In September 2022， when visiting Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan， President Xi Jinping proposed to practice the concepts of a community with a shared future at the bilateral level to add new impetus to good-neighborly cooperation. In May 2023， President Xi Jinping met with the presidents of Tajikistan， Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan respectively and stressed that in face of the new circumstances， China is willing to work with Tajikistan to comprehensively improve the level of cooperation in all fields and promote the building of a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future featuring everlasting friendship， solidarity， and mutual benefit; and build a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future featuring good-neighborliness， friendship and shared prosperity with Kyrgyzstan， carry out all-round cooperation and assist the development and revitalization of the two countries; practice a community with a shared future at the bilateral level with Turkmenistan and open a new chapter in the development of China-Turkmenistan relations. These principles are the valuable experience and common wealth accumulated through cooperation. They are the political guarantee for the steady and long-term development of China’s relations with Central Asian countries， and the source of strength for China to carry forward friendly exchanges with Central Asian countries and jointly build a community with a shared future.