On March 26th, Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a keynote speech titled "China-Central Asia community with a shared future: shaping our future in an uncertain world" at the Young Experts Club under the Senate of Kazakhstan. The event was chaired by Maulen Ashimbayev, Chairman of the Senate of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and attracted over 100 participants including members of parliament, scholars, and media representatives of Kazakhstan.   

Liu noted, located in the center of the Eurasian continent, Central Asia has a special and important geographical location and enjoys broad and far-reaching development prospects. Its importance is even more prominent amid the profound changes unseen in a century. China and Central Asian countries have promoted the construction of a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, creating a regional cooperation model of seeking common development, sharing peace and moving forward together in the world. In more than two months, Kazakhstan will host the second China-Central Asia Summit, which is believed to promote greater development of China-Central Asia cooperation. 

Liu said, currently, the international environment sees much complexity and change and is full of uncertainty and instability. In the face of the turbulent world, China and Central Asian countries, which have traversed a development journey of more than 30 years, have adhered to the original aspirations and moved forward with determination, continuing to build a close China-Central Asia community with a shared future. With the fruitful results and successful experience of sharing interests, responsibilities and future, both sides have injected stability, certainty and positive energy into the turbulent world. This is the China-Central Asia answer we provide for the world today, and more importantly, it is a guide for us to move towards the future together. 

We have respected and supported each other. China and Central Asian countries have successfully resolved issues left over from history, respected each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and firmly supported each other in independently choosing a development path that suits national conditions. This has become the strong spiritual core of the continued strong development of China-Central Asia relations. As a fellow traveler on the road to modernization, China is willing to, together with Kazakhstan and other central Asian countries, respect each other, strengthen political mutual trust, and firmly support each other on issues involving respective core interests. 

We have stayed committed to mutual benefit and win-win results, and helped each other succeed. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) closely links the development of China and Central Asian countries. Central Asia has become one of the regions with the most cooperation projects and the most results at an early stage within the framework of the BRI. China is willing to accelerate the docking of development strategies with Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries, innovate the forms of economic and trade exchanges, deepen cooperation in new productive forces such as digital, green, and scientific and technology development, and work together to inject more vitality and impetus into the development of both sides, the region, and the world.   

We have helped each other and safeguarded peace. Thanks to the joint efforts of China and Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Asia has maintained long-term and overall stability, in sharp contrast to the conflicts and chaos in other parts of the world. Sharing boundaries, China and Central Asian countries can always be each other's reliable and trustworthy neighbor. China will continue to make use of platforms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) to jointly combat the "three forces", respond to all kinds of security threats, and jointly create a universally secure external environment. 

We have increased mutual understanding, developed friendship, and learnt from each other. Despite different languages and customs, China and Central Asian countries have affectionate feelings for each other. Through thousands of years of exchanges and interactions, China and Central Asia have formed a unique phenomenon of civilization integration. More people from Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries are welcome to visit China to go on inspection tours, study and travel in China. These will allow them to engage in more face-to-face exchanges with the Chinese people, truly feel China in the new era, and serve as friendly envoys promoting exchanges and mutual learning between China and Central Asia. 

Liu said, the CPC and the political parties of Central Asian countries have made unique contributions to the construction of China-Central Asia community with a shared future. The CPC is willing to strengthen institutional exchanges with the political parties of Central Asian countries, implement the important consensus reached by leaders on regional development, give play to the advantages of political party exchanges, build consensus on development, promote pragmatic cooperation, enhance exchanges between civilizations, and work together to promote the construction of a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future. 

During the Q&A session, Liu answered questions and elaborated on positions and views on the CPC's international exchanges, China's foreign policy, Chinese studies, the development prospects of the SCO, Belt and Road cooperation, China-Kazakhstan cooperation, the role of "middle powers", the international situation and interactions between major countries.