Bishkek and Beijing Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation

 

In early February President of the Kyrgyz Republic (KR) Sadyr Japarov, at the invitation of PRC Chairman Xi Jinping, paid a state visit to Beijing, during which he held talks with the Chinese leader. In addition, the leader of Kyrgyzstan met with Premier of the State Council of China Li Qiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji.

It is noteworthy that the visit of the head of the KR to Beijing took place during the most important holiday in China – the New Year (Spring Festival) according to the eastern calendar, which additionally created an atmosphere of trust between the leaders of the two countries. It is no coincidence that in this regard, Xi Jinping especially noted that President Japarov became the first foreign leader received in China during the celebration of the traditional Spring Festival, which continues during the first month of the lunar calendar.

It should be noted that the visit of the President of Kyrgyzstan to China was marked by the signing of a number of important agreements and the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in various areas. Perhaps the most important moment of the summit was the signing of the Joint Statement on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the New Era. In the document, the parties expressed mutual support for the national development goals of the two countries, opposed the interference of external forces in internal affairs and the use of double standards, and also emphasized the importance of security issues and noted the great practical significance of “strengthening cooperation in the field of security, law enforcement, defense and intelligence”.

During the visit the parties signed more than 20 documents aimed at developing and strengthening bilateral ties. They cover a wide range of areas of cooperation between the two countries, touching upon such topics as the creation of a mechanism for strategic dialogue at the level of the Foreign Ministries of the two states, the alignment of the construction of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the National Development Program of Kyrgyzstan until 2026, the start of negotiations on the Agreement on Trade in Services and Investments between the Kyrgyz Republic and China, strengthening investment cooperation in the field of minerals used in clean energy technologies, digital development and artificial intelligence, poverty reduction, and alternative energy.

Among the concluded agreements, it is worth highlighting investment agreements with Shenzhen Energy Group Co., Ltd. on the construction of a wind power plant and a solar power plant, each with a capacity of 300 MW, in Kyrgyzstan. Significant progress has been achieved in the field of agriculture. Thus, protocols were signed simplifying the export of Kyrgyz agricultural products to China. The amount of investment in the project of the Kyrgyz-Chinese demonstration park of modern agricultural industry was also increased from $260 million to $410 million. This project involves the construction of a plant for the production of mineral fertilizers. It is important to note here that the trade turnover between the two countries has been steadily growing over the past three years, amounting to $22.71 billion by the end of 2024, which is clear evidence of the growing effectiveness of trade and economic relations between the Kyrgyz Republic and China.

During the visit of the President of Kyrgyzstan to Beijing, in the political plane, Bishkek and Beijing confirmed mutual support on fundamental issues. In particular, Sadyr Japarov assured Xi Jinping of Bishkek’s support for China’s large-scale OBOR project, confirmed the Kyrgyz Republic’s commitment to China’s initiatives on Global Development, Global Security and Global Civilization. The Kyrgyz leader also noted the importance of the new format of regional cooperation “China – Central Asia”, which was developed in May 2023, when the first summit in this format was held in the Chinese city of Xi’an. By the way, this year the second summit is to be held in Kazakhstan and it is planned to create a Secretariat necessary for the full-fledged work of this format.

The Chinese leader, in turn, noted that Kyrgyzstan, under Japarov’s leadership, demonstrates stable development and expressed confidence that the country “has chosen an independent and distinctive path of development” that meets national interests.

When considering China’s foreign policy in Central Asia (CA), it is necessary to realize that within the framework of the common regional space, the work of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Beijing’s implementation of its OBOR initiative are the most important factors in international stability and regional economic development. It is quite obvious that without them it would be difficult to talk about the formation of a special space for cooperation and interaction between China and the CA countries.

It is important to note here that in the context of the growing importance of the Central Asian region for Russia, Moscow views Kyrgyzstan as a “gateway” to China and other Asian countries, working on the creation of the Southern Transport Corridor through Central Asia and the Caspian Sea to the port of Astrakhan and further into our country.

It is quite obvious that the geographical proximity of China is a significant factor for the development of close regional cooperation with the Central Asian countries within the framework of the OBOR initiative and SCO projects, as well as the implementation of the Greater Eurasian Partnership within the framework of the conjugation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the One Belt – One Road project. In this regard, it seems that this year the China – Central Asia platform could take on the coordinating role of all projects in which China and the Central Asian countries participate, in order to deepen multilateral cooperation.

One of the main results of the past year in relations between Bishkek and Beijing was, perhaps, the start of the long-awaited construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. It will have regional and continental significance with the prospect of connecting to the project of North-South international transport corridor, the multimodal corridor Central Asia-Russia, the Middle Corridor in the European direction, as well as other branches that can bring Central Asia closer to the Persian Gulf, the Middle East and South Asia. Providing fast and efficient transport and logistics services along the entire route of the railway will help connect regional and global production chains, which will increase the role and status of Kyrgyzstan and the region as a whole in the structure of global economic development.

In this context, it seems that relations between the Kyrgyz Republic and the PRC have reached the highest point of development in the history of bilateral dialogue and made it possible to begin implementing a large-scale international project that can change the regional system of logistics and trade and economic ties. In this regard, it is not surprising that during Sadyr Japarov’s February visit to Beijing, the leaders of the Kyrgyz Republic and China paid special attention to discussing key transport and communications projects. Further deepening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Kyrgyzstan and China, a gradual increase in the importance of the Kyrgyz Republic for China’s foreign policy, in turn, can create a foundation for the implementation of Beijing’s other continental projects both in Central Asia and Eurasia as a whole.

There is no doubt that the recent state visit of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov to China has become one of the most significant events in recent times for Bishkek in geopolitical and economic terms, and has opened up new prospects for growth and deepening of cooperation between the two countries.

Member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, head of the PRC Foreign Ministry Wang Yi at a press conference within the framework of the 3rd session of the 14^th NPC called China’s chairmanship of the SCO this year “a return to the native land”. This was reported by the information service of the mobile application “Russia – China”.

“This year, China is chairing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). We are very happy that the SCO is returning home, to its native land. Let China’s actions add shine to the “Shanghai Spirit”, let the Chinese driver serve as a powerful additional impetus for the development of the SCO,” he said. Wang Yi added that the next SCO summit will also be held in the city of Tianjin in the fall. “Let’s get a new start in the SCO processes in the name of forming an even stronger community of the SCO’s common destiny,” the country’s top diplomat commented on the prospect of holding the future event.

Sergey Saenko, International Observer

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