China used this week's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to deepen ties across Central Asia, turning a largely symbolic multilateral gathering into a series of bilateral agreements and modest progress toward a long-discussed SCO Development Bank.
President Xi Jinping combined his attendance at the SCO's 26th Council of Heads of State meeting in Bishkek with a state visit to Kyrgyzstan. This allowed Beijing an opportunity to advance its bilateral agenda with Bishkek while pushing several initiatives within the regional bloc.
The most significant bilateral outcome was the signing by Xi and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov of a Treaty on Eternal Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation. The two leaders also issued a joint declaration upgrading relations to what they described as a "high-quality" comprehensive strategic partnership.
The agreements are largely political in nature, but they formalise a closer relationship between Beijing and Bishkek and provide a framework for expanding cooperation in the years ahead.
More tangible was the continued push behind the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, a $4.7 billion project that finally moved into construction after more than two decades of negotiations and delays.
The railway is designed to link western China with Central Asia and eventually provide a route toward markets in the Middle East and Europe. For Beijing, the project offers another overland trade corridor and could reduce reliance on routes running through Russia or vulnerable maritime chokepoints.
The railway featured prominently in President Xi's discussions in Bishkek and emerged as one of the clearest practical outcomes of his visit.
At the multilateral level, China also pushed ahead with efforts to establish an SCO Development Bank. Member states agreed in principle to create the institution at last year's SCO summit in Tianjin and continued negotiations in Bishkek over its structure.
President Xi's Global Governance Initiative, first unveiled at the Tianjin summit, was also highlighted by Chinese officials, who said it has received support from nearly 160 countries and international organisations over the past year.
Digital cooperation featured prominently as well. SCO members adopted a 2026-2028 international information security plan and advanced a framework for regional data-processing, computing and artificial intelligence centers. Several memoranda on AI cooperation were also signed.
The initiatives fit into China's overall push to reshape international discussions around digital governance and AI standards especially among developing countries and institutions outside the Western-led system.
No major trade or critical-minerals agreements were announced in Bishkek. Instead, China's focus on railways, connectivity and regional economic integration highlighted a longer-term strategy of expanding alternative trade routes and strengthening economic links across Central Asia regardless of how its negotiations with Washington unfold - with whom China has been locked in a contest over trade and technology.
Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) have gathered in Bishkek for a summit focused on trade, investment and transport as the...
Russian air attacks have killed at least 12 people and injured several others in Kyiv and the surrounding region early on Tuesday, marking the sixt...
China used this week's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to deepen ties across Central Asia, turning a largely symbolic multilateral gat...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have concluded talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, as leaders gather for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Jordan in the first direct U.S.-Iran military escalation in weeks.
Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) have gathered in Bishkek for a summit focused on trade, investment and transport as the group marks 25 years since its creation.
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
Kyrgyzstan is hosting the sixth World Nomad Games, bringing together thousands of athletes from around the world for a celebration of traditional sports, cultural heritage and nomadic traditions.
Russian air attacks have killed at least 12 people and injured several others in Kyiv and the surrounding region early on Tuesday, marking the sixth consecutive day of strikes on the Ukrainian capital.
Türkiye has drawn up a plan to restore safe grain shipments through the Black Sea and is discussing the proposal with both Moscow and Kyiv, its foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday.
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, with China, Russia, Pakistan, the United States and the United Nations among the key partners on Uzbekistan’s agenda.
The death toll from last week's catastrophic floods in Nepal and Tibet surpassed 1000 on Tuesday, with about 4,000 people, including 590 foreign nationals from 39 countries, still missing, as fresh rainfall pushed up river levels and forced rescuers to move to higher ground.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to begin an official visit to Egypt on Tuesday (1 September), his first trip to the country in a decade, as Beijing and Cairo look to deepen political, economic and development cooperation.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment