China on Wednesday agreed credits worth over three billion dollars for energy projects in its northern neighbour Kyrgyzstan, during a visit by President Xi Jinping aimed at boosting Beijing’s influence in Central Asia.
Xi held talks with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev on the last leg of a major regional tour that has already taken him to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
“According to the agreements reached during President Xi’s state visit to Kyrgyzstan, China will disburse over three billion dollars in credits for Kyrgyz projects,” Economy Minister Temir Sariyev said.
He said that US$1.4 billion of credits will go on a 225 kilometre Kyrgyzstan-China gas pipeline that will pump gas originating from energy-rich Turkmenistan to the Chinese city of Kashgar.
The rest of the credit will go on rebuilding a power plant in Bishkek, constructing a new motorway and expanding an oil refinery, he added.
Atambayev said Kyrgyzstan, a resource-poor nation that has been rocked by successive bouts of political unrest after the fall of the Soviet Union, was deeply thankful for Xi’s visit.