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China highlights expanding Central Asia role as Xi attends SCO summit
China-Central Asia goods trade reached a record US$106 billion last year, making Beijing the largest trading partner of the five SCO countries combined for the first time.
China is using President Xi Jinping’s appearance in Bishkek for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to spotlight its growing engagement across Central Asia, as Beijing seeks to strengthen influence amid a shifting international landscape, according to SCMP Economy.
SCMP Economy cites Chinese government data showing China-Central Asia goods trade hit a record US$106 billion last year, a level that made China the largest trading partner of the five countries combined for the first time.
An expert at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Li Lifan, said the SCO and the broader region hold special significance for Beijing as global competition intensifies between the US-led West and the emerging Global South. He added that deeper engagement and closer alignment with Central Asian partners are aimed at building common ground and presenting a more unified front.
Li said the SCO also gives China a platform to project power and influence elements of the global order, pointing to the bloc’s expansion as evidence of China’s rising diplomatic appeal.