Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus to discuss Silk Road belt
President Xi Jinping left for Kazakhstan yesterday as part of a six-day state visit that will also take him to Beijing's most important strategic partner Russia and nearby Belarus.
President Xi Jinping left for Kazakhstan yesterday as part of a six-day state visit that will also take him to Beijing's most important strategic partner Russia and nearby Belarus.
In Kazakhstan, Xi met Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, jointly laying down a blueprint for cooperation between the two countries.
The Chinese foreign ministry said the cooperation included the joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt proposed by Beijing for trade and infrastructure development along countries in Asia and Europe. Kazakhstan, China's strategic partner for the last 23 years, is one of the countries along the belt.
The visit was Xi's second to Kazakhstan in two years, and the trip is expected to increase mutual trust between the two states.
After Kazakhstan, Xi will head to Moscow today for a three-day visit, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Xi and Putin will define the priorities and direction of China-Russia ties, the foreign ministry said. They will discuss combining the Silk Road belt with Russia's idea for a trade and infrastructure network across Eurasia, as well as the development of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.
Xi's strategy of expanding Chinese interests through the former Soviet states of central Asia could clash with Putin's plans for the Eurasian Economic Union and undermine Sino-Russian relations, according to Bobo Lo, author of to be published next month.
"The Silk Road, though an infrastructure idea, is about the promotion and expansion of Chinese interests, which leaves a clear conflict of interests with Putin's own Eurasian Economic Union," Lo said in a March interview. "They haven't directly clashed … but give it time."
The two heads of state are expected to sign energy and aviation deals and discuss the possibility of a Russian high-speed railway project.
Xi is also slated to attend a parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe.
On Sunday, Xi will embark on the final leg of his trip with a two-day visit to Belarus - the first visit by a Chinese president in 14 years.
In Belarus, he will meet its President Alexander Lukashenko and Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov, and they will also discuss the Silk Road belt.
Heads of government departments and enterprises from both sides will sign a series of documents covering cooperation in areas including trade, culture and education.
Xi returns to China on May 12.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
