Chinese Prime Minister prepares for official visit to Central Asian country

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to visit Kyrgyzstan next week, as Beijing seeks to forge deeper 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 global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative. Last year, two-way trade between China and Central Asia reached $70 billion.

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.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thu-tuong-trung-quoc-chuan-bi-tham-chinh-thuc-mot-quoc-gia-trung-a-246862.html