On 17-18 October 2019, Nanning (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, GZAR, China) hosted the 7th China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum titled Cooperation in the Sea and on the Land: Fostering Innovative Development.
The opening of the forum, organised by the SCO China Committee on Neighbourhood, Friendship and Cooperation, was followed by a plenary session and panel discussions on cooperation in international logistics and e-commerce; joint development of smart cities; and cooperation on the use of satellite navigation.
Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), President of the All-China Women's Federation, Chairperson of the Chinese Committee of the SCO on Neighbourhood, Friendship and Cooperation Shen Yueyue, GZAR Communist Party Secretary Lu Xinshe and SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov spoke at the opening ceremony.
Shen Yueyue and Lu Xinshe noted in their remarks that cooperation between China and the Central Asian countries is growing faster every year, making it possible to achieve significant practical results in all areas of multilateral and bilateral cooperation.
Vladimir Norov emphasised that every year this forum — an important and respective platform for a broad exchange of views between China and Central Asia — contributes to the emergence of new ideas and approaches for the development of mutually beneficial and constructive cooperation, as well as ever closer contacts and ties between representatives of the political, public, business and academic circles of our countries.
Friendship between Central Asia and China and mutually beneficial political, trade, cultural and humanitarian ties have deep historical roots going back more than 2,000 years.
Our countries have been tightly bound by the Great Silk Road, which has played an important role in their shared history and culture and is now an integral part of our historical memory.
Central Asia has been a crossroads of civilisations, cultures and strategically important transport routes for millennia, Vladimir Norov said. Today's countries in the region are the heirs to the great ancient states and peoples who gave the world unique achievements in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, philosophy and art. Their value for the development of humankind is difficult to overestimate.
It is especially worth noting that in recent years, cooperation between the countries of Central Asia has made rapid progress, and important results have been achieved in all areas of joint activity.
The region has also become more united, stable, economically sustainable and attractive for foreign investment.
The SCO Secretary General pointed out that Central Asia is the geographical centre of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation; it is the core of the SCO and an important focus for its activities. The Bishkek Declaration, adopted at the SCO Summit in 2019, notes that its member states support the efforts of the Central Asian countries to deepen cooperation in various fields, welcome the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution of 22 June 2018 on "Strengthening regional and international cooperation to ensure peace, stability and sustainable development in the Central Asian Region" and the second consultative meeting of the leaders of Central Asian states in Tashkent in 2019.
The Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping and first presented in the capital of Kazakhstan, is especially significant for strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation between Central Asia and China. Linking the Belt and Road with the national economic development strategies of the SCO member states is consistent with the goals, objectives and principles of our organisation, as well as with what we know as the Shanghai Spirit. This global initiative holds the potential for changing the world for the better, creating new opportunities for cooperation not only among the peoples of the SCO countries, including Central Asia and China, but also for states on three continents.
The SCO countries are aware of the need to continue their cooperation to ensure sustainable development and the general prosperity of the region and the SCO space. In this regard, more intensive cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and China in the following priority areas is highly relevant.
First, Central Asia and China need to expand trade, economic cooperation and investment. According to analysts, last year's trade between the SCO member states totaled some $305 billion, or a mere 5 percent of their total trade with foreign countries.
This shows a demand for joint projects in manufacturing and high-tech industries, modernisation of industry, simplification of customs procedures and the promotion of e-commerce.
According to some estimates, e-commerce currently accounts for about 20 percent of global trade and is expected to reach 25 percent by 2025.
Second, in the modern world, the development of cooperation in areas such as digitalisation and information and communications technologies creates a large number of jobs, especially for young people and women, and has become an effective mechanism for people to avoid poverty.
This year, the SCO Summit in Bishkek approved the Concept for Cooperation between the SCO Member-States in the Sphere of Digitalisation and Information and Communication Technologies drafted at the initiative of the presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
China holds one of the leading positions in the world in terms of ICT development. Access to China's experience and technology can be helpful for all Central Asian countries in bridging the gap and achieving the benefits of digitalisation.
Third, it is important to conduct consistent joint work to strengthen the region's transshipment potential, to build modern multi-modal transport and logistics hubs and create a modern system of transport routes to give the Central Asian countries access to seaports.
Rail transport from China to Kazakhstan, Russia and on to Europe, Central Asia and the Gulf is now on the rise; at the same time, only 1 percent of freight is actually transported by rail, while the remaining 99 percent goes by sea. So the planned Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway is going to become an important link in the regional transport network as part of the East-West project, which, along with the North-South sub-regional corridor, will give the landlocked countries in Central Asia access to the markets of Europe, East and Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and the ports on the Mediterranean.
During a recent expert discussion, the Chinese offered proposals on potential railway links for the project, which will provide the shortest route from China to Europe and the Middle East. According to experts, shipping at least 5 million tonnes of goods per year will fully cover the costs of construction.
It is also important to attract Afghanistan to transport projects between the Central Asian countries and China; this should be a contributing factor to that country's stabilisation and economic development. The Hairatan to Mazar-i-Sharif railway and the planned Mazar-i-Sharif-Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif-Peshawar lines will form a new transit corridor with access to the Iranian, Pakistani and Indian railways and to the ports of Chabahar and Gwadar. It is symbolic that the first China-bound Afghan export shipment of 41 containers took off on 5 September 2019 from the Hairatan station via the Friendship Bridge and the railways of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Fourth, global climate issues such as the drying of the Aral Sea, the glaciers melting faster, desertification and soil erosion amid regional population growth call for priority implementation of joint agricultural projects based on modern water-saving technologies, innovative farming and desert greening.
Fifth, the growing cooperation in tourism, the improvement of infrastructure and development of new cross-border tourist options will promote small business and consequently, improve living standards in Central Asia.
Today, the SCO cultural space has 143 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which are a powerful source for the development of tourism.
And yet, the tourism potential of the SCO, which is 44 percent of the global population, is not being fully exploited.
In this regard, the SCO Secretariat, with the support of the member states, has launched a series of presentation events as part of the Eight Wonders of the SCO project, which includes one tourist landmark from each SCO country.
The presentations have already been held in Beijing, Xi'an, Dushanbe and Helsinki.
The share of e-commerce in global tourism currently exceeds 30 percent of transactions. In this respect, the programme of smart tourism development in the SCO space, including in the countries of Central Asia, plays a paramount role.
Other speakers at the opening session of the forum included First Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Davlatali Said, Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Zamirbek Askarov, First Deputy Head of the Women's Committee of Uzbekistan Zulaykho Makhkamova, Director of Kazakhstan's China and Central Asia Studies Centre Ruslan Izimov, as well as high-ranking representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Thailand.
The forum was attended by over 200 representatives from Chinese government ministries and agencies, business and academia, leading media outlets from China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as representatives of ASEAN countries.