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© Thomson Reuters 2023.Central Asia leaders converge in China as Xi touts 'enduring' friendship
By Andrew Hayley XIAN, China©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
77 Comments
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Clay
More peaceful neighborly engagement, shared interests and values, no crazy destabilization by China = SMART, G-7 should the try the same for change!
wallace
And the Chinese Ugihurs?
Clay
If one were to ask these countries about US human rights, you'd hear many views on US drug addiction and overdose, violence, crime, discrimination, exploitation, high incarceration, poverty, mental illness, etc.
Key here is peaceful constructive engagement by China, that's what the World LIKES!!!!
Ricky Kaminski13
Is there nothing these jokers don’t copy from the West? Is this the C6 summit Xi?
Interesting choice of words. ‘Intensify’ a relationship. Bit creepy mate.
Clay
These counties seek Stability in their Relations and that means not crossing red lines in terms of domestic disturbance and destabilization, so unlike US and G-7.
That's the magic, guardrails vs. chaos, China's playing the LONG game, while US and G-7 pursue dangerous transactional destabilization.
No wonder China's becoming so popular, as stable leadership hard to find these days!
deanzaZZR
Xi'an is a great location for the meeting as it was the Tang capital (then known as Chang'an (長安) when the Silk Road had the strongest influence on Chinese culture. For those who love history Xi'an is a most visit.
Putin can't be happy to be on the sidelines. Times change.
TaiwanIsNotChina
That's great for China, but these countries aren't particularly relevant.
wallace
China supplying Putin with weapons. Buying cheap gas and oil in return.
But Uighurs and Tibetans are not part of Xi's "enduring friendship" and Taiwan. We all know what happened in Hong Kong.
deanzaZZR
These countries are extremely relevant from China's perspective as they are resource rich and provide expanding markets for Chinese products. Central Asia is also important as a transportation corridor to Turkey and Eastern Europe.
TaiwanIsNotChina
We'll see how stable it is when they touch off ww3.
itsonlyrocknroll
Kazakhstan’s three-way balancing act between competing powers is under pressure
https://merics.org/en/kazakhstans-three-way-balancing-act-between-competing-powers-under-pressure
Sooner or later the people of Kazakhstan will have to pay the piper, politically, economically.
quercetum
The Uyghurs are just an obsession of the West that has failed. "Between 1996 and 2002, we, the United States, planned and financed, and helped execute every single uprising and terror-related scheme in Xinjiang. - Sibel Edmonds, FBI Whistleblower 2011.
Trade deals and loans to build infrastructure versus billions of weapons and ammunition to fund war. It's better to build bridges than to build bases.
kyushubill
Ah yes, the Capo de Regime is meeting with his flunkies. Kissing his ring and his, well you know, for a nice envelope of sweet cash. Was Xi the Pooh's lap dog Pooty there?
Aly Rustom
Central Asia leaders converge in China as Xi touts 'enduring' friendship
"Come into my house" said the spider to the fly.
Clay
All this US trade and investment in Mexico and Canada is so much different?
Or something else, like bias, racism and/or brainwashing? One hopes neighbors have constructive engagement, though we're so used to this endless war programming, such normal engagement seems 'weird', that's SAD reality.
Apparently +2 billion Muslims globally like what President Xi is up too - G-7 Not So!
wallace
China is preparing for its invasion of Taiwan depending on the outcome of Putin's war in Ukraine.
Building military bases in the South China Sea.
wallace
Why is China building an advanced military? Record spending on defense.
Coulda been
Invitation credential requirements to the Xifest- bank account filled by corruption, suppression of personal freedoms, rig any elections, jail opponents, kiss the boots of the CCP.
EFD
"Enduring Friendship"
As long as they know which side their bread is buttered on.....
Roxy Music
China keeps building friendships. Smart.
wallace
China buys countries for their natural resources and when they can't pay up they take over. Like the copper mines in Chile.
EvilBuddha
With Russia weakening because of its faltering invasion of Ukraine, all these ex-Soviet states know that China being a neighbor and a vast market is their next boss, so they are just acknowledging fealty to their new master.
wallace
China is China's main interest.
Japan Violet
I don't trust that guy.
itsonlyrocknroll
With the benefit of hindsight there were opportunities. when the government of China were buildings there fortified sand castles on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
China New Spratly Islands Defense's....
https://amti.csis.org/chinas-new-spratly-island-defenses/
Please take time and view the whole site....
The government of China is working hand in glove with Putin's Russia to pounce, divide and draw US into a position they might blink except the Government of China political dominance to/of the pacific region in return for Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.
A win win for both governments of Russia and China.
Europe in various states of appeasement will be persuaded to accept such a political outcome for there own vested interests.
wallace
China is bordered by 14 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam. Furthermore it shares maritime borders with Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
nandakandamanda
Whle Putin is trying to ring-fence his little front garden, the mountain of sand behind his house is eroding fast.
itsonlyrocknroll
Peace at any cost......
Maybe I am crazy, but I am a reasonable bridge player.
The government of China smell weakness, a lack of resolve.
Bluffing, randomness, and luck in poker and bridge.
https://greatbridgelinks.com/bluffing-randomness-luck-poker-bridge/
Both Xi and Putin, for one a escape route, the other a means to exert authority over an entire region.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Which one?
TaiwanIsNotChina
Boy, it would be a shame if absolutely every single country with long borders and that isn't a police state had these problems. It's hardly a human rights issue, particularly for countries that are even poorer and have more violence.
Aly Rustom
yes it is.
You just described Xi and the CCP
How do you know all 2 billion like what he is up to?
PTownsend
It will be interesting to watch how Xi's 'Belt and Road, matches up or perhaps conflicts with Putin's 'Eurasian Economic Union'. With all the territory Russia and Chine have within their respective borders, and all the natural resources both have, do they really need more. The two titans of state capitalism are the newest imperialists, expanding their territory to further enrich their ruling caste. Will the new Imperium be any different from any of the previous ones?
tooheysnew
no it’s not
AlternativeOpinion
China can step up and be a responsible part of the international community, the more the better.
Democracy is what enables you to post an opinion without any consequence, try doing that in your beloved China.
quercetum
Yes, China is a good example. Countries should look out for their own interest. China is definitely doing the right thing. Chinese company Cosco acquires stake in Hamburg port terminal.
China is doing a good job of protecting itself by building bases in the West Philippines Sea. If you do not protect yourself, you will end up like Ukraine. China needs to make sure the US will not try one of their old tricks of embargoing China again or blocking the Straight of Malacca via India. Self-Defense is a basic human right and China will continue to build islands to protect its own interests.
That said times of changed though. The oil that goes through the Straight of Malacca to China is countered by the huge pipeland built directly between Russia and China.
Another option is Gwadar Port in Pakistan. As part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing has developed the port in Gwadar so that goods unloaded there will be shipped overland to China. People hear of Russia and China but in fact Pakistan and China are even closer. China is building a high speed railway there too.
The US is still living in the 20th century exporting tanks to UK and meddling in forerign governments. China takes all that energy and puts it into investing and building. It will continue to build its military as no investment is safe without security.
This is another old trick of the US. In the 90's hundreds of Uyghurs were transported to Afghanistan by the CIA for training in guerilla warfare by the Mujahideen. They returned to Xinjiang and proceeded with their terrorist activities. China is so efficient and competent. Nipped it in the bud and put an end to it. The CIA were smashed. Those with connections to ETIM were arrested as terrorists should be.
The policy of guiding the evolution of Islam and helping them against US adversaries worked well in Afghanistan against the Red Army. The same doctrine is used to destabilize the remains of Russian power and especially to counter the Chinese influence in Central Asia. As this article shows, this endeavor has also failed. China is going full steam ahead to build.
Banks loan mortgages to home buyers and when they can't pay up, they take over. This is normal and a smart way of doing business. China just built a huge port in Saudi Arabia. It has an expanding network of ports around the world. The US has some military bases, some 750 military bases around the world. China builds ports for trade instead of bases for military conflicts. The Chinese-built Mecca-Medina High-speed Railway changes the appearance of Saudi Arabia's cities as well.
Building infrastructure is way more ;constructive than building tanks, jets, and missiles.
Obviously, it wants to be strong and not weak. When you are strong, countries will leave you alone. Every examples you listed is a strong point of China.
quercetum
Our server won't allow access to this site.
There are two sides to every thing. China pollutes yet it is the world leader in EV's. Their achilles' heels is energy, having to rely on imports and so this is forcing them to turn to renewable energy.
The easy way to stop this would be to have Australia stop exporting coal to China.
There is a huge gap between the so called civil servants or those connected with the government versus those who are commoners. China definitely still has a problem with poverty. That said per the World Bank, over the past 40 years, the number of people in China with incomes below $1.90 per day – the International Poverty Line as defined by the World Bank to track global extreme poverty– has fallen by close to 800 million. With this, China has contributed close to three-quarters of the global reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty. At China’s current national poverty line, the number of poor fell by 770 million over the same period. The CPC deserves praise for this.
It's usually men who sit around and criticize the Chinese government. There is plenty of criticism of the CPC if you can read Chinese online. There just is. There are comment sections like the one here where people complain. When people protested against frozen bank accounts or the lock down, that led to the CPC policy change or countermeasures. The hot topics that get zapped have to do with treason or attempting to change the system. If you thread gets zapped here, you wouldn't think you don't have freedom of speech would you? The same is China. Do the rioters in on capitol hill have freedom to carry out their activities?
It would be nice if China provided free internet.
This is the best part about China. There is no fight regarding budgets. If there is a need, the CPC will open the wallet and get it done. Multi-party sytems like in the US is an inefficient use of time and money. Every two years you have to get ready for Presidential elections again. You keep fighting and fighting each other. The unity in China is ideal.
Unfortunately currently no especially Christianity as it is a Western religion. Muslims enjoy more freedom than Christians.
Every comment in this thread can be done in China. People don't really want to sit around all day and criticize the government anyway. How Americans do you know that love to sit around and watch Fox News and talk about Tucker Carlson and so on. People have enough freedom of speech.
EFD
Here’s a ginormous loan at semi-easy rates. And if you cannot pay the loan back, no worries. The CCP will happily settle for a 99 year lease on your deep water port or exclusive extraction rights to your natural resources.
What’s not to love. We win, we win, EVERYONE (who’s a member of the CCP) WINS!
EFD
China wants a “peaceful rise” “one country-two systems” (Ok, you got us. it’s really just the one system)
Oh, that didn’t work? How about a “belt and road initiative”? We can just buy you off, will that work?
Well, if you won’t agree and we can’t bribe you, then we will “smash” you in a righteous fury about a “greater China” while blathering about historical wrongs and screaming about containment.
Are you sure we can’t just buy you off?
ian
Posts are getting more and more ridiculous, seems China is driving people insane
quercetum
They are not forced to take out the loan. How about if they pay what they agreed to pay? Sounds fair to me.
Absolute freedom of speech does not exist and perhaps not in your country as well. You can criticize the government in China and commoners do so all the time. They did in the case of the Covid lock down in Beijing of all places and changed the duration of the lockdown. They also did so in the case of the banks cutting off access or freezing accounts by protesting which led to the central government taking action. These examples of free speech are very grassroots in nature, critical of the government, and led to change.
There is indeed freedom to criticize the government but if you’re a prominent figure advocating a different system of government, treasonous acts, and inciting riots, you’ll be arrested.
It’s not so much about the freedom of speech but more of whether you are backed by a foreign government. like the US, and used to destabilize society or not.
Basically you appear to be stating what you are stating based on what you’ve heard and not based reality. I could be wrong but you seem to be confusing freedom of speech and freedom to engage in speech and activities that is perceived to advocate change in the political system, which needless to say, is illegal and not allowed,
wallace
50 empty mega cities.
wallace
Hundreds of blocked internet sites.
The reasons behind Internet censorship in China include Social control: the Internet is a means for freedom of speech, and dissemination of campaigns could lead to protests against the government. Sensitive content: to control information about the government in China.
ian
Don't know about China but the problem now in our parts of the world is that freedom of speech is diminished and still fast diminishing.
No one really has actual freedom of speech now. If you utter a wrong word the bigots will try to cancel you and destroy your life with extreme prejudice.
Fredrik
That is hitting the nail. Neither Xi's meeting, nor G7 are addressing any of these issues. They all want to be the biggest and most powerful economies or military powers in the world.
quercetum
Right on the nail. What states are concerned about is the balance of power. They care about how powerful they are relative to the other states. And here by states I mean superpowers or great powers. They worry about their survival. It’s not about the political order; not about liberal states or fascist states or communist states.
Americans tend to think democracies are the good guys and authoritarian states or communist states are the bad guys, but it’s not really about the good guys or the bad guys. In reality there are no good guys or bad guys. You just have states competing against each other and jockeying for position and the balance of power.
Even if China were a democracy, Sino-US relations wouldn’t be without frictions and tensions because China has economic leverage, cutting edge technology, 4 times the population of rival superpowers (EU and the US) and a growing military.
Democracy Schmocracy. It’s about competition. Iron sharpens iron, and China must be thankful because the U S is sharpening the iron of China - semiconductors, GPS, Space Stations, etc - and making China better and sharper.
RichardPearce
So much hate for China in the comments.
All of it futile and fruitless because, as Henry Kissenger put it in the Munk debate decades ago, "The 21st Century belongs to China"
kaimycahl
Xi's show of solidarity with Central Asia at the summit is nothing but corralling those members in and telling them he will be their leader and they are too stupid to read behind the lines that by their attendance they are only accepting his leadership!
Peter14
ClayToday 12:59 pm JST
Yeah 15-20 years ago the same was being touted by China regarding the growing trade with Australia. That "enduring friendship" did not last all that long before China made outrageous demands of Australia who sensibly refused to buckle to China's coercion and pressure.
Everything is rosy as long as China gets everything it wants. When it doesn't then the finger pointing begins and the downgrading of the relationship follows closely behind.
Authoritarian governments are not the most sensible or stable, but they are the most demanding and least forgiving when they cant get what they are after. And they are after total control over, and subservience from smaller nations.
quercetum
Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had built 39,000 5G base stations by the end of April 2023, amid the region's efforts to push head with 5G networks, local authorities said on Wednesday.
Currently, all the region's prefecture-level cities, all its counties and 99.16 percent of its townships are covered by 5G networks. There are 15 5G base stations for every 10,000 residents in Xinjiang.
Last year, Xinjiang's information and communication industry invested 1.7 billion yuan (about 244 million U.S. dollars) in building 5G base stations.
You join China’s group and you can concentrate on developing infrastructure. You join the G7 and you end up sitting around talking about war and who’s going to come up with the money to fund the war. Then you talk about the boogeyman and then you sit and fret and fret while the other side is signing trade agreements and business deals with China. Macron signed a nice fat Airbus deal during his visit.
Xinjiang is covered by 5G before Japan. The central Asian countries are sold. I know Kazakhstan is.
wallace
Pity all the internet censorship. 5G was available in Japan from March 2020.
China’s rollout of thousands of 5G base stations throughout its far-western Xinjiang region has raised suspicions that the technology will not be used for economic development but for enhanced digital surveillance of Uyghurs and other Muslims, experts say.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/xinjiang-5g-10142022163853.html
"Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had built 39,000 5G base stations by the end of April 2023, amid the region's efforts to push ahead with 5G networks, local authorities said on Wednesday."
Straight from the China Daily.
Roxy Music
Lots of paranoia around China's success.
quercetum
He is leading and holding this Central Asian summit and inking deals after deals with participating countries while Biden is canceling meetings. Where is the US leadership in Central Asia? Where is the US in the Middle East?
The Chinese leadership has been astounding in their choice in selecting their leaders. The U.S. should really learn from China.
In China’s meritocracy system, a person like Trump would never make it to the top. Many Americans would agree with me that Trump is not the best person to represent the US, as seen in the comments here. Many Americans would also agree with me that Biden is one of the worst presidents in history. A person like Biden would not make it to the top in China either.
The POTUS should be highly selective and competitive like it was in the past. It should be as hard as getting into the top schools in the US like ones with 5% or less acceptance rates. Biden and Harris are the first President and Vice President combo in 36 years with no Ivy League credentials on their resumes. The CCP leaders are scientists and engineers with graduate degrees and are the cream of the crop among 1.4 billion.
One party meritocracy is really the way to go.
quercetum
Coverage versus when it started. Its the former.
So Xinjiang has currently 99.16%. Japan eyes 5G access for 95% of population by March 2024. Xinjiang is ahead of Japan.
quercetum
Definitely, the government is watching but it’s not used only for the surveillance of Uyghurs but for all in China. Japan also has a developed surveillance system, and I’m not just talking about cameras for for street crimes.
wallace
Most of Japan already has 5G. I live in the seaside and I've had 5G since last year.
5G map
https://www.nperf.com/en/map/5g
Which residents of Xinjiang even have access to 5G?
quercetum
By the end of fiscal 2020, 5G coverage was still under 40 percent of the population. The ministry aims to raise that to 95 percent by the end of fiscal 2023, then to 97 percent by the end of fiscal 2025 and 99 percent by the end of fiscal 2030, according to the plan.
Asahi Shimbun
The point is they poured money into development. Central Asian countries need China to develop their 5G network as does the countries in the EU. The U.S. should offer its 5G network system to these countries. Why isn’t it doing so?
TaiwanIsNotChina
Clearly was a miss with Xi as he has alienated the world and stunted China's growth.
On the contrary, because there are no term limits and no checks on power, you could very well end up with someone with dementia in office.
I've seen plenty of evil people with ivy league degrees, including Surrender 45.
Without accountability you have the same unethical runaway policies that the leadership is unwilling to change course on because it will make them look bad. It's kinda like having AI running your country into the ground.
elephant200
These land locked countries needs China very much with trade and Chinese investment, their rich natural resources are very important that should not be fallen in the hands of Western countries. China can reduce reliance on Australian raw material exports. Because Australia is not a friendly country and all imports from there should be reduced to minimal in order not to be a national threat to China, we should not funding an unfriendly state!
elephant200
@Wallace: Why is China building an advanced military? Record spending on defense.
Yes of course China is stepping up military spending. Because this is on the match of America's record spending on defence. The US and China were in a truce signed in 27 July 1953 at the end of the last Korean war. U.S. is a hostile state to China!
deanzaZZR
It's seems quite silly to me, this rabid anti-China obsession many have here. China, like all powerful countries has a mix of good and bad qualities. That is reflected in the social and economic situation in Xinjiang. Those with a background in East Asian history understand this has been a battleground fought over my Mongols, Turks, Chinese, Uyghurs and other contenders for at least 2,000 years.
Finally there is an era of peace so the people can focus on economic development. That 5 neighboring majority Muslim countries show up for the meeting tells you all you need to know.
ian
People will believe anything you just have to bombard them with it repeat it over and over.
But who knows the Uyghur thing might be true.
Anybody who can provide links to good satellite photos of the camps they are housed in? There must be thousands of them
quercetum
In your people’s system of checks and balances, the system does not function; and bad things happen all the time. Checks and balances on paper and it actually functioning are two different points. Your people’s CIA trained these Uyghur terrorists to fight in Afghanistan. Your system has no checks as seen in Libya, Iraq, Somalia, Panama, Syria. The list is quite extensive; so no evil is irrelevant to the political order.
It’s naive ti think the factions within the CPC don’t check upon each other, but once it’s decided you have work for the good of the whole.
Xi has term limits even now. The West feeds disinformation that he’s chair for life.
Actually Winnie the Pooh was posted by some foreigner in Mandarin. Everyone just ignored it because nobody knows what the hell that was about.
TaiwanIsNotChina
What now? By that do you mean we were training people to fight the Taliban? Uh yeah, we can see what stellar gentlemen that Taliban are.
The US has no ongoing invasions. Checks and balances are meant to prevent your own government from doing stupid, illegal, or unpopular things.
I bet you end up under house arrest if you "check up on" a fellow CPC stooge at a minimum. I guess that is slightly better than the Stalinist practice.
Really? 15 years is the limit? How do you know he just won't roll it back again.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Bottom of the world press freedom tells you all you need to know.
quercetum
No, there are no term limits. It’s unlimited. Each term is 5 years. They can choose someone else and Xi can go in the background abs be CC an elder statesman.
The U.S. or CIA supported rebel terrorist group to overthrow the Afghan government. I’m surprised you are not aware of this Operation Cyclone. They (the US) did the same with rebels in Hong Kong and the ETIM Uyghurs, who were arrested. This is standard with the U.S. All failed including Tibet Taiwan will fail too. The U.S. supported groups are no match for the CPC who is good at crack downs.
elephant200
"Uyghurs problem" was a wrong issue, there was NO such a genocide they called is exist. They have been doing this for long time, since 1980s/90s the Tibetan was facing genocide..blah Fabrication of news can be very out of control, the propaganda purpose is to instigate hatred of Chinese mania.
I tell you where does exist the real bloody "GENOCIDE": IRAQ, SYRIA, LIBYA! Since 1991 one million Iraqi people mostly children were starved or illness to death under US,UK lead sanctions caused. And Syria a senseless civil war since 2011 also caused a million innocent people deaths. With the less bloody but still persisting civil war in Libya.
Branding China is murderous enemy, those western vocal noise makers should take a look at their own bloody hands !
TaiwanIsNotChina
The 80s called. They want their talking points back.
elephant200
@TW: The US has no ongoing invasions
Of course not because not now. After 20 years of intruding and occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria. US& her lackeys were exhausted and heavily debted. All these wars were foolish and unpopular in their own countries. But that doesn't mean they have no aggressive attempts to dispose other country govt. Ukraine had a "Coup" back in 2013 Dec - March 2014 that toppled the former rightful
TaiwanIsNotChina
Thank you for acknowledging my point. Credit card is not maxed out by any means, btw.
Anybody had the right to object and to try to get the one man rightful government out of Moscow. Putin declined to object.
quercetum
It doesn’t matter. There is no way HK, Xinjiang, Tibet or Taiwan can rebel against China. Maybe back in the 1950’s but certainly not now not that they’d want to anyway. That the CIA think they can hire insurrectionist and take down China shows you how smart they are. I can offer a better plan to destabilize China than all of the CIA brains out together.
Ricky Kaminski13
The Thug alliance. Those that play to the human tendency to resentment, cynicism and then tragically, Marxism as a solution. Half of our own countries on the verge of falling into this dangerous mindset. Those mad enough to believe that power in ‘their’ hands will be better.
The Wests greatest achievement was democracy, even if it is flawed, and the long fought realization that power , held for too long is inevitably poison.
ClippetyClop
Or some people will not believe it no matter how thoroughly it is proven to them.
How about a bit of new-fangled video of them for the lazy youngsters amongst us?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FiTfJfea0c
A million of them involved in that 'thing'. That 'Holocaust Thing' might be true too. But alas, no good satellite photos of them, so you can assume it never happened.
lostrune2
These ex-Soviet central Asian countries used to be under Russia's sphere of influence
But Russia's influence weakens, particularly due to the Ukraine invasion which these countries don't support (so they remain neutral, instead of backing up Russia). Remember, Ukraine used to be an ex-Soviet state too just like them, so they're also wary that Russia would do to them what Russia is doing to Ukraine (that is, Russia trying to absorb and dominate them, putting them back to the Soviet days)
So, what Russia's loss is China's gain. Russia is becoming the big loser here