China and five Central Asian countries have agreed to expand their cooperation at the close of a two-day China-Central Asia summit in the eastern Chinese city of Xiโan.
China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan agreed on Friday to promote cooperation โall along the lineโโ in commerce and trade, investment and industry as well as agriculture and energy.
This is according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua as reported on Friday.
Chinaโs president and communist party leader, Xi Jinping, welcomed the presidents of the five Central Asian countries on Thursday with a ceremony and a joint dinner.
Xinhua reported that the leaders agreed to regularly hold similar meetings in the future.
The next China-Central Asia summit was planned for 2025 in Kazakhstan.
The China-Central Asia summit was held almost simultaneously with a summit of seven wealthy industrialised democracies, which kicked off in Hiroshima, Japan on Friday.
Leaders from the G-7 countries are expected to discuss challenges raised by China during their meeting, in addition to Russia and the war in Ukraine.
Some observers see the meeting in Xiโan as a counter-event to the G-7 summit. (dpa/NAN)