China loves bombastic numbers that make an impression and, from this point of view, the Xi’an summit with the presidents of the five republics of Central Asia did not disappoint expectations. During the two days the Chinese president Xi Jinpingwho strongly wanted the meeting, entertained bilateral talks con i leader in Kazakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to then chair the “plenary” session. They were well 82 official agreements signed during meetings, a number that makes it clear how many are the tables on which the interests of the People’s Republic and Central Asian countries cross. The concomitance with the G7 di Hiroshima and, to a lesser extent, the elaborate ceremony staged in Xi’an to mark the start of the two-day symbolic weight than what happened in the city of central China.
However, net of cinese greatnessthe significance of the trip to the east of the presidents of the post-Soviet states is above all geopoliticalgiven that on the economic and strictly political front the meeting only sanctioned the continuation or at most the deepening of relationships, very tight, already in place. Beijing has elevated to the level of partnership strategica the bilateral relationship with theCentral Asia and declared its willingness to accompany local leaders on the development path of their countries, guaranteeing their freedom of manoeuvre, their sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity. A refrain that is appearing with great frequency in statements of this kind after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As if to reiterate that China does not threaten its borders in any way local counterparts. On the logistics front, Xi Jinping underlined Chinese support for all connectivity projects underway in the region, a clear sign that the Belt & Road Initiative, infrastructural initiative whose tenth anniversary of its launch (which took place in Kazakhstan) is still at the center of Beijing’s interests along the east-west axis. The same goes for the security front: Kyrgyzstan, for example, declared maximum support to the People’s Republic on the Xinjiang issue and the Tajik Armed Forces will hold new joint exercises with the Chinese military in the coming months.
No doubt from Russia it has been watched with great attention to the two days of Xi’an. Moscow is in fact aware of its own international isolation and of the ever-increasing importance that the five Central Asian republics have: they are, moreover, among the few allies left for the Kremlin. Proof of this is the journey held en bloc by local leaders to the Federation on the occasion of the Victory Day celebrations. The only heads of state present, apart from the Belarusian Alexander Lukashenko and Armenian Nikol Pashinyan. The message arrived at Vladimir Putin from the Chinese land is that Xi Jinping wants to play his own game independently (at least partially). Central Asia. This despite the Chinese president’s visit to Moscow last March, the two leaders issued a joint statement in which the will to cooperate in the region and above all not to accept attempts by external forces to destabilize it was put on paper.
Moreover, during the summit in China there was no no mention of Russia nor to the Ukrainian affair. This is also a clear message: the situation in Eastern Europe is due exclusively to Putin’s decisions and it is time that Central Asia does not consider i Kremlin problems as local problems. This is because, in the current world increasingly multipolarBeijing is also a reliable political partner. It is an awareness that, coming to the more strictly Central Asian dimension, certainly warms the hearts of leaders like the Kazakh Kassym-Jomart Tokayev the l’uzbeco Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The latter are in fact grappling with the definitive consolidation of their grip on their respective regimes, a dynamic that is also closely linked to the need to guarantee a level domestic economic growth constant. An objective, the latter, pursued by trying to show Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as stable countries in which doing business is beneficial it’s safe. It is no coincidence that the Uzbek leader was in Germany just before going to China and will be in Italy in June, in an attempt to secure investments and political support, also in view of the early presidential elections to be held in Uzbekistan in July. Here then is that Chinese investments and strategic support become fundamental from this point of view, especially in the light of the always greater unpredictability concerning the historic Russian ally. An ally you can’t break with permanently, for example rushing to Moscow on the occasion of a celebration such as Victory Day, but from which it is good to always try to distance yourself greater decision.