Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi participated in the third China + Central Asia (C+C5) foreign ministers' meeting in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan on Wednesday.

The meeting was chaired by Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi, and also attended by Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev, Tajik Transport Minister Azim Ibrohim, and Uzbek acting Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov.

Wang said that China and Central Asia, as close as lips and teeth, share weal and woe and move forward side by side as a community with a shared future.

No matter how the international landscape may change, China will always firmly support the Central Asian countries in protecting their sovereignty and independence, pursuing development paths suited to their national conditions and building an autonomous Central Asia, he stressed.

China unwaveringly supports the Central Asian countries in maintaining political security and social stability and building a peaceful Central Asia, supports the Central Asian countries in accelerating economic development, improving people's well-being and building a prosperous Central Asia, and supports the Central Asian countries in cementing solidarity and self-development, pursuing mutual benefit and win-win outcomes and building a cooperative Central Asia, he added.

Guided by the principles of mutual respect, good-neighborliness, solidarity and mutual benefit, China stands ready to strengthen solidarity and coordination with the Central Asian countries and jointly build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future, Wang said.

To this end, Wang put forward a five-point proposal at the meeting.

Firstly, the six countries need to improve the frameworks for further cooperation. It is of great strategic significance to establish a mechanism for the heads of state to hold summits in the "C+C5" format. China will host forums for sub-national, think tank, industrial and investment, and economic and trade cooperation to unleash the potential of "C+C5" cooperation.

Secondly, the six countries should build a strong engine for post-pandemic economic recovery, which includes cooperation in the natural gas pipeline projects, the China-Europe freight train services, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, the trans-Caspian transport corridor, jointly building a "digital Silk Road" and a "green Silk Road," exploring new patterns of cooperation in modern agriculture, and further expanding the scale of local currency settlement.

Thirdly, the six countries need to safeguard regional peace in both traditional and non-traditional areas, which requires joint work to combat the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, drug trafficking and cross-border organized crimes, fight the COVID-19 pandemic, enhance production safety and disaster management, improve the capacity and level of emergency management, and make good use of the foreign ministers' meeting among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's liaison group with Afghanistan.

Fourthly, the six countries should explore multiple paths for people-to-people exchanges, including the establishment of cultural centers, training of skillful workforce, enhancing cooperation and sharing experience in poverty reduction, strengthening cooperation in areas such as addressing climate change, biodiversity conservation and environmental protection.

Fifthly, the six countries should pool the positive forces of global governance, implement the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative properly, build a community with a shared future for mankind, uphold the tenet and principles of the UN Charter, practice true multilateralism, promote the common values shared by all mankind, and support all countries in safeguarding their core interests.

Wang stressed that China will not stop its pace of development and revitalization and will not waver in its resolve to cooperate with other countries.

China will continue to be an important contributor to world economic growth and a staunch defender of international fairness and justice, he said, adding that a developing and prosperous China not only is a blessing for the world but also brings new opportunities for the development of the Central Asian countries.

All parties spoke highly of the C+C5 cooperation mechanism, saying that China is a good neighbor and partner of the Central Asian countries as well as their largest trade and investment partner, and that the two sides enjoy strong mutual trust and fruitful cooperation.

The Central Asian countries thanked China for providing strong support for their infrastructure construction, improvement of people's livelihood and connectivity in their countries, and for taking the lead in helping their countries fight the pandemic, noting that their relations with China enjoy a solid foundation and broad prospects, and the determination to deepen traditional friendship, consolidate strategic coordination and expand mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides has never changed.

All parties said they are ready to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the six countries, tap the potential of the C+C5 cooperation mechanism, and build a Central Asia of peace, friendship, mutual assistance and harmony.

The Central Asian countries said they fully support high-quality joint Belt and Road construction and the building of a green and digital Silk Road, and look forward to learning from China's successful development experience, so as to help Central Asian countries explore paths of poverty alleviation and development to achieve innovative and sustainable development.

In the face of new challenges posed by the current turbulent international situation, all parties expressed their readiness to strengthen bilateral and multilateral coordination, safeguard sovereignty, security and national values, uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, jointly combat the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, safeguard food security and maintain peace, stability and development in the region and Asia.

All parties spoke highly of China's constructive role in preventing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and will jointly commit to promoting peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

All participants of the meeting unanimously agreed to establish a mechanism for the heads of state to hold summits in the "C+C5" format.

Four documents were approved by all sides, namely, a joint declaration of the third China + Central Asia (C+C5) foreign ministers meeting, a road map for implementation of the consensus of the virtual summit of China + Central Asia (C+C5), an initiative to deepen cooperation in the field of connectivity and cooperation among China + Central Asia (C+C5) countries, and an initiative for cooperation of China + Central Asia (C+C5) countries in the field of data security.

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