Treaty on eternal good-neighborliness, friendship, cooperation a new landmark in China-Central Asia relations: FM spokesperson

BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- A treaty on eternal good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation signed during the Second China-Central Asia Summit is a new landmark in relations between the six countries involved, and a pioneering initiative in China's neighborhood diplomacy, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a daily press briefing on Wednesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the summit on Tuesday in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, and made a keynote speech. President Xi delivered a full review of the fruitful outcomes of China-Central Asia cooperation and articulated the "China-Central Asia Spirit."

"President Xi noted that the two sides should remain committed to our fundamental goal of unity, always trust and support each other, optimize our cooperation framework to make it more result-oriented, efficient and deeply integrated, and develop a security framework for peace, tranquility and solidarity. He said we should cement the bonds of the shared vision, mutual understanding and mutual affection between our peoples, and uphold a fair, equitable international order, as well as an equal, orderly world structure," Guo said.

He added that the six countries -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan -- upheld the China-Central Asia Spirit of "mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit, and mutual assistance for the joint pursuit of modernization through high-quality development," which was one of the highlights of the summit.

Guo said that the summit identified future cooperation priorities and decided to establish three cooperation centers -- on poverty reduction, education exchange, and desertification prevention and control -- as well as a cooperation platform on smooth trade. Cooperation will focus on smooth trade, industrial investment, connectivity, green mining, agricultural modernization and personnel exchanges.

China and Central Asia will promote high-quality regional development and the joint pursuit of modernization, Guo said, adding that all parties involved had also sent out a united message that they would defend multilateralism firmly, uphold international fairness and justice, and pursue an equal, orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial, inclusive economic globalization.

China consistently takes Central Asia as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and interacts with Central Asian countries on the basis of equality and sincerity, Guo said, adding that China always wishes its neighbors well.

"China stands ready to work with Central Asian countries, and together set a leading example in building a China-Central Asia community with a shared future," he said. ■