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Update on Xi Jinping's arrival in Kazakhstan
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kazakhstan on Tuesday for a state visit, during which he will attend a meeting of the Shanghai Alliance countries in the Kazakh capital Astana.
The nine-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which spans a vast area of the globe from Moscow to Beijing, is home to about half the world's population.
Its permanent members are Kazakhstan, this year's host country, India, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and, since last year, Iran.
This year, Belarus is expected to join the organization after being informed at the 2023 SCO summit, hosted virtually by India, that it would become a member.
“Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Astana on Tuesday for the 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and a state visit to Kazakhstan,” the official Xinhua news agency reported from Astana.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said Xi Jinping's plane was escorted by two Kazakh fighter jets when it entered the country's airspace.
Xinhua reported that Xi Jinping's entourage included Cai Qi, a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing believes the SCO summit will “help build more consensus among all parties and contribute to promoting the security, stability and development of member countries” and advance “lasting peace and common prosperity in the world.”
During Xi Jinping's trip to Kazakhstan – his fifth – he will attend various state events, including a welcoming ceremony, a signing ceremony and a banquet.
He will hold “in-depth” talks with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev “on bilateral relations, cooperation in key areas and the regional and international landscape,” Mao said.
Xi will then travel to Tajikistan for his second state visit to China's western neighbor, where he will “draw up new plans for the growth of China-Tajikistan relations” with President Emomali Rahmon, the spokeswoman said.
Beijing has stepped up its diplomatic efforts in Central Asia, with Xi Jinping calling for deeper economic ties at a China-hosted summit in May attended by leaders from several countries in the region.
Central Asia is a key link in China's flagship international infrastructure development project, the Belt and Road.
Beijing has sought to fill a vacuum in the region created by Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as former Soviet states fret over an increasingly belligerent Russia.
At the Central Asia Summit in May, China pledged to expand its transportation links with the region and advance the Central Asia-China gas pipeline project.
After the Astana meeting, China will assume the rotating presidency of the SCO for the period 2024-2025.
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