An installation for the China-Central Asia Summit in both Chinese and Russian sits outside the press center of the summit in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province on May 16, 2023. The summit takes place on May 18 and 19. Photo: Xinhua

Cooperative projects between China and Central Asian countries have been rolled out in succession before and following the two-day China-Central Asia Summit concluded in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Friday.

China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and the State Power Investment Corporation have inked an investment agreement with Kyrgyzstan to build the Central Asian country's first large-scale centralized photovoltaic (PV) project, CRCC revealed on Saturday. 

The agreement is in regard to a 1,000-megawatt power plant project. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov also attended the signing ceremony in Xi'an on Thursday, according to the CRCC.

Kyrgyzstan is currently implementing a series of reforms across its domestic energy structure, and the 1,000-megawatt power plant will be the largest of its kind in the country, Japarov said.

The project will not only benefit the Kyrgyz people in the long run, but also enhance the country's independent power supply capacity and promote the economic and social development and prosperity of Kyrgyzstan, Japarov noted.

With full confidence in the future economic development of Kyrgyzstan, CRCC is willing to leverage its advantages across the complete industrial chain to actively participate in the construction of infrastructure projects such as railways, roads and PV power stations in Kyrgyzstan and make more contributions to the economic and social development of Kyrgyzstan, according to Wang Wenzhong, vice president of CRCC.

CRCC has 11 ongoing projects in mining and road construction in four Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

On the sidelines of the summit, businesses representatives from China and Uzbekistan also gathered in Xi'an on Friday, and concluded a series of cooperation in areas of trade, energy, agriculture, digital technology and others. 

By adding a route to Duschanbe, Tajikistan on Thursday, the host city Xi'an has become the first Chinese city realizing full coverage of international flights to all five Central Asian countries. Currently, Xi'an is operating 11 flights to Central Asian countries per week, China Media Group reported.

In addition to Chinese companies, China's National Development and Reform Commission on Friday also inked a Memorandum of Understanding on industrial and investment cooperation with related departments of the five countries, aiming to further build consensus between China and Central Asian countries on promoting regional economic, industrial and investment cooperation.

This summit has been a good start for cooperation. We believe that with our joint efforts, China's relations with Central Asian countries will forge ahead like a ship braving all winds and waves, offer new vitality to the development and revitalization of the six countries, and inject strong, positive energy to peace and stability of the region, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry told a press conference on Friday.

Global Times