China and Central Asia: Bright Prospects for Economic Cooperation

The proposal to develop a Silk Road economic belt is not a fantasy, Wu Hong-wei said. Yin Songling, China’s second ambassador to Turkmenistan, in March 2013 was invited to participate in the symposium in Turkmenistan themed “Great Silk Road Diplomacy: From History to the Future.” “Turkmenistan also intends to revitalize the Silk Road,” Yin said. This move echoes Xi Jinping’s proposal to construct a Silk Road economic belt. “Revitalizing the Silk Road has been a dream cherished by Central Asian countries for many years. Since their independence, these countries have all hoped to give full play to their geographic advantages, at the center of the Eurasian Continent, by revitalizing the Silk Road as an important development strategy in the hopes of developing their own economies – through rejuvenating this ancient thoroughfare,” Wu said.

Economic complementarity exists between China and Central Asian countries, enhancing the possibilities for upgrading economic and trade cooperation. Apart from energy cooperation, the two sides also have great cooperation potential in the agricultural and textile fields, since Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are rich in cotton while China boasts advanced irrigation and textile technologies.

Chen Yurong observed, however, that with their imbalanced economic development, Central Asian countries have differing demands in terms of multilateral economic cooperation. “Kazakhstan is a highly developed economic entity in Central Asia, while Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are relatively weak. The great disparities in economic strengths pose new challenges for regional economic integration and multilateral economic cooperation,” Wu said. Nevertheless, she is still optimistic about prospects for economic cooperation between China and Central Asian countries.