China promised to strengthen its economic ties with Central Asia on Thursday a day before it is expected to be targeted at the Group of Seven summit in Japan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is holding a series of one-on-one meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan at the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian.

The two-day summit is the first in-person gathering of its kind since Beijing established diplomatic relations with the five newly independent countries in 1992 and will run in parallel with the G7 meeting in Japan.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

US officials told Reuters last week that the leaders of the seven advanced economies would discuss ways of countering Chinese "economic coercion" as part of wider plans to take a tougher stance towards Beijing as it seeks to challenge the US-led global order.

The leaders of the Central Asian countries expressed support for deeper Chinese engagement in the region as they increasingly look to Beijing as an alternative trade and security partner to Russia as its war in Ukraine grinds on.

The five spoke highly of the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism and pledged greater participation in China's flagship infrastructure plan, the Belt and Road Initiative.

Kyrgyzstan, which upgraded its diplomatic ties with China on Thursday, said it was important to speed up work on a planned China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, a landmark project under the Belt and Road initiative.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right, back) and Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon (left, back) preside over a signing ceremony. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=Chinese President Xi Jinping (right, back) and Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon (left, back) preside over a signing ceremony. Photo: EPA-EFE>

Xi said the two countries should bolster economic cooperation, adding China is willing to increase investments in the country and import more of its agricultural products.

"China and Kyrgyzstan should increase mutual support, especially by clearly and strongly supporting each other's core interests, and be good friends who trust and rely on each other," Xi said.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, said relations between the two countries are now "at the highest level".

"There are no political disagreements or unresolved issues between our countries ...The high level of mutual political trust provides an excellent opportunity to expand and build up trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between our two countries," he said.

In Xi's meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, the two countries signed 13 cooperation documents, including plans for joint counter-terrorism exercises and for the Chinese tech giant Huawei to build a data centre in Tajikistan, according to the Tajik foreign ministry.

Xi said both countries should seek better synergy between their development strategies, including building "high-quality" Belt and Road projects together, while Rahmon thanked China for its infrastructure and technological support.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang also held a separate meeting with Rahmon, saying China is ready to make the "pie of cooperation" with Tajikistan bigger.

In a meeting on Wednesday evening with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the two countries agreed to accelerate the building of a third rail link between the two countries and take measures to ensure a stable gas supply through the Kazakhstan section of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline.

Kazakhstan also vowed support for three initiatives that China has proposed - the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilisation Initiative - which are seen as an alternative to the current global system.

The two countries also agreed to strengthen cooperation to prevent foreign interference and "colour revolutions" in their territories.

Presidents Xi Jinping and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev exchange documents during a signing ceremony. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=Presidents Xi Jinping and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev exchange documents during a signing ceremony. Photo: EPA-EFE>

A total of 47 agreements worth more than US$22 billion were signed between Kazakhstan and China during the summit.

Trade between China and the five Central Asian countries has grown significantly since Beijing launched the Belt and Road initiative in 2013. The combined volume reached US$70.2 billion last year, up 40 per cent year-on-year, according to Chinese customs data.

China is also the biggest importer of natural gas from the region. In April, the total trade volume between China and the five Central Asian countries exceeded 50 billion yuan (US$7 billion) for the first time. China's imports of coal, natural gas, and crude oil accounted for 55 per cent of the total import volume.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.