China’s Xi in Kazakhstan to cement ‘eternal’ Central Asia ties

China’s Xi in Kazakhstan to cement ‘eternal’ Central Asia ties
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, left, receives China’s President Xi Jinping upon his arrival at the airport in Astana on Tuesday. (AFP)
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Updated 18 June 2025
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China’s Xi in Kazakhstan to cement ‘eternal’ Central Asia ties

China’s Xi in Kazakhstan to cement ‘eternal’ Central Asia ties
  • Astana summit brings Xi together with Central Asian leaders

ASTANA, Kazakhstan: Xi Jinping celebrated China’s “eternal friendship” with Central Asia at a summit in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, as the Chinese leader blasted tariffs and sought to assert Beijing’s influence in a region historically dominated by Russia.

The summit in Astana brought together Xi with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Under Russia’s orbit until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the five Central Asian states have courted interest from major powers including China, the European Union and the United States since becoming independent.

At the summit, the group signed a pact of “eternal” friendship as Xi called for closer ties with the resource-rich region.

“We should... strengthen cooperation with a more enterprising attitude and more practical measures,” said Xi in comments carried by state news agency Xinhua.

Central Asia is also seen as a key logistics hub, given its strategic location between China, Russia, the Middle East and Europe.

Speaking as Western leaders gathered on the other side of the world for the G7 in Canada, Xi refreshed his criticism of US President Donald Trump’s trade policies.

“Tariff wars and trade wars have no winners,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.

While Central Asian leaders continue to view Russia as a strategic partner, ties with Moscow have loosened since the war in Ukraine.

China has also shown willingness to invest in massive infrastructure projects in the region, part of its Belt and Road initiative that uses such financing as a political and diplomatic lever.

In a meeting with Kyrgyzstan’s president, Xi called for moves to “advance high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and foster new drivers of growth in clean energy, green minerals and artificial intelligence.”

The five Central Asian nations are trying to take advantage of the growing interest in their region and are coordinating their foreign policies accordingly.

They regularly hold summits with China and Russia to present the region as a unified bloc and attract investment.

High-level “5+1” format talks have also been organized with the European Union, the United States, Turkiye and other Western countries.

“The countries of the region are balancing between different centers of power, wanting to protect themselves from excessive dependence on one partner,” Kyrgyz political scientist Nargiza Muratalieva told AFP.

Russia says China’s growing influence in the region does not pose a threat.

“There is no reason for such fears. China is our privileged strategic partner, and the countries of Central Asia, naturally, are our natural historical partners,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

But China has now established itself as Central Asia’s leading trading partner, far outstripping the EU and Russia.

Construction of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway and the China-Tajikistan highway, which runs through the Pamir Mountains to Afghanistan, are among its planned investments.

New border crossings and “dry ports” have already been built to process trade, such as Khorgos in Kazakhstan, one of the largest logistics hubs in the world.

“Neither Russia nor Western institutions are capable of allocating financial resources for infrastructure so quickly and on such a large scale, sometimes bypassing transparent procedures,” said Muratalieva.

Kazakhstan said last week that Russia would lead the construction of its first nuclear power plant but that it wanted China to build the second.

“Central Asia is rich in natural resources such as oil, gas, uranium, gold and other minerals that the rapidly developing Chinese economy needs,” Muratalieva said.

“Ensuring uninterrupted supplies of these resources, bypassing unstable sea routes, is an important goal of Beijing,” the analyst added.

China also positions itself as a supporter of the predominantly authoritarian Central Asian leaderships.

At the last Central Asia-China summit, Xi called for “resisting external interference” that might provoke “color revolutions” that could overthrow the current leaders in the region.

“Beijing sees the stability of the Central Asian states as a guarantee of the security of its western borders,” Muratalieva said.

Central Asia border’s China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of having detained more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims, part of a campaign the UN has said could constitute crimes against humanity.


UN warns of Sudanese conflict ‘spill over’ in C.Africa

UN warns of Sudanese conflict ‘spill over’ in C.Africa
Updated 11 sec ago
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UN warns of Sudanese conflict ‘spill over’ in C.Africa

UN warns of Sudanese conflict ‘spill over’ in C.Africa

United Nations, US: The UN peacekeeping chief warned Thursday about potential spill over from Sudan’s war to undermine nascent stability in the Central African Republic, including paramilitary operations.
Last week, an armed group attacked a patrol by the UN mission in the CAR, killing a Zambian peacekeeper.
Among the world’s poorest countries, the CAR shares a border with Sudan, which has been plunged into devastating conflict between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023.
Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix highlighted the armed group attacking the CAR mission during a Security Council meeting Thursday, and a report released by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s office noted attacks in the region as well.
“The security situation remains fragile in border areas,” Lacroix told the UN Security Council, referring to the CAR.
“In the northeast, on the border with Sudan, instability is characterized by the overflow of Sudanese conflict, including incursions by armed groups,” he added.
The Central African Republic is also reckoning with rising numbers of Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict, with the UN report estimating 36,642 living in the country as of June 1.
“The Sudanese conflict is a real threat. Armed groups are crossing our borders, recruiting young people and compromising our sovereignty,” said CAR UN ambassador Marius Aristide Hoja Nzessioue.
Lacroix said the Central African Republic was at a “delicate juncture,” adding that support for the progress made toward upcoming elections from the international community “remains essential.”
“If these efforts are sustained...the Central African Republic has the potential to become a true success story — not only for Central Africans, but also for Peacekeeping and for this Security Council,” Lacroix said.


Lawmakers scrap ‘revenge’ tax provision from Trump’s big bill after Treasury requests its removal

Lawmakers scrap ‘revenge’ tax provision from Trump’s big bill after Treasury requests its removal
Updated 27 June 2025
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Lawmakers scrap ‘revenge’ tax provision from Trump’s big bill after Treasury requests its removal

Lawmakers scrap ‘revenge’ tax provision from Trump’s big bill after Treasury requests its removal
  • Critics warned that Section 899 of the bill "will hurt the US more than it helps"
  • Global Business Alliance said the section could lead to 700,000 US jobs lost

WASHINGTON: Congressional Republicans agreed to remove the so-called revenge tax provision from President Donald Trump’s big bill Thursday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asked members of Congress to do so earlier in the day.
The Section 899 provision would allow the federal government to impose taxes on companies with foreign owners, as well as investors from countries judged as charging “unfair foreign taxes” on US companies.
The measure was expected to lead many companies to avoid investing in the US out of concern that they could face steep taxes.
Bessent said in an X post that he made the request to lawmakers after reaching an agreement with other countries on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Global Tax Deal. He said that after “months of productive dialogue,” they would “announce a joint understanding among G7 countries that defends American interests.”
After he made the request, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Missouri, said “we will remove proposed tax code Section 899” from the bill and “Congressional Republicans stand ready to take immediate action if the other parties walk away from this deal or slow walk its implementation.”
The removal of the provision will provide “greater certainty and stability for the global economy and will enhance growth and investment in the United States and beyond,” Bessent said in his post.
An analysis by the Global Business Alliance, a trade group representing international companies such as Toyota and Nestlé, estimates that the provision would cost the US 700,000 jobs and $100 billion annually in lost gross domestic product.

Global Business Alliance infographic. (X: @GlobalBiz)

The Global Business Alliance was among several groups that signed a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo of Idaho, warning of the consequences of Section 899.
The removal of the provision adds a wrinkle to Republicans’ plans to try to offset the cost of the massive package. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would spike deficits by at least $2.4 trillion over the next decade.
Republicans are rushing to finish the package this week to meet the president’s Fourth of July deadline for passage.
Earlier Thursday, the Senate parliamentarian advised that a Medicaid provider tax overhaul central to the spending bill does not adhere to the chamber’s procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow to Republicans, who are counting on big cuts to Medicaid and other programs to offset trillions of dollars in Trump tax breaks.


EU leaders agree to prolong Russia sanctions: officials

EU leaders agree to prolong Russia sanctions: officials
Updated 27 June 2025
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EU leaders agree to prolong Russia sanctions: officials

EU leaders agree to prolong Russia sanctions: officials
  • EU’s sweeping sanctions includes freezing of more than 200 billion euros ($234 billion) in Russian central bank assets

BRUSSELS: The EU’s 27 leaders on Thursday agreed to extend sanctions on Russia for another six months, resolving fears that Kremlin-friendly Hungary would let the measures lapse, officials said.
The decision at a summit in Brussels means that the EU’s sweeping sanctions over the war in Ukraine, including the freezing of more than 200 billion euros ($234 billion) in Russian central bank assets, will remain in force until at least early 2026.
It comes after officials said they were preparing contingency plans to keep the bloc’s economic punishment on Moscow in place should Hungarian leader Viktor Orban refuse to budge.
EU counterparts had feared a refusal by Budapest to renew the measures could blow a massive hole in the leverage the bloc holds over Russia as the United States presses peace efforts.
Orban took the decision to the wire the last time the sanctions — which need to be extended every six months — came up for renewal in January.
But while the EU made sure its existing measures will remain in place, it failed to get clearance on a new package of sanctions due to a blockage by Hungary’s ally Slovakia.
Slovakian leader Roberto Fico refused at the summit to greenlight the new round of sanctions due to a separate dispute with Brussels over plans to cut off imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027.
Slovakia remains dependent on Russian gas imports and earns money from transit fees for supplies piped across its territory.
Fico held talks with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen earlier on Thursday but failed to get the concessions he wants and announced he would hold up approval of the sanctions package.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky urged EU leaders in a video address to adopt the strong package “targeting Russia’s oil trade, shadow tanker fleet, banks, and supply chains that bring equipment or parts for making weapons.”
Officials say, however, that a push to lower a price cap on Russian oil exports has been shelved after Washington failed to back the push as part of a broader G7 initiative.
 


Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of POWs

Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of POWs
Updated 27 June 2025
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Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of POWs

Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of POWs

CHERNIGIV REGION, Ukraine: Ukraine and Russia exchanged a new group of captured soldiers on Thursday, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month.
Neither side said how many prisoners were released in the latest exchange.
The two countries pledged to swap at least 1,000 soldiers each during their direct meeting in Istanbul on June 2 but no follow-up talks have been scheduled.
The return of prisoners of war and the repatriation of war dead have been among the few areas of cooperation between the warring sides since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“Today, warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service are returning home,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.
He shared images of Ukrainian soldiers draped in blue-and-yellow national flags, smiling and tearfully embracing.
AFP reporters in Ukraine’s northern Chernigiv region saw relatives awaiting the prisoner release.
Some family members waved posters of missing or captured soldiers in the hope someone would recognize their loved ones and bring them news.
Svitlana Nosal learned her husband Viktor had been freed.
“It’s such a joy, I don’t know how to describe it, how to put it into words,” she said, laughing and crying in the late afternoon sun.
The majority of those released on Thursday were held captive for more than three years, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Many of them were taken prisoner in Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city that fell to Russian forces in 2022 following a nearly three-month siege, it said.
Russia said its soldiers had been transferred to Belarus and were receiving “psychological and medical care.”
“Another group of Russian servicemen has been returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
It posted a video showing freed Russian soldiers draped in their national flag, chanting “Russia, Russia, Russia!“


UN climate chief warns ‘lot more to do’ before COP30

UN climate chief warns ‘lot more to do’ before COP30
Updated 27 June 2025
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UN climate chief warns ‘lot more to do’ before COP30

UN climate chief warns ‘lot more to do’ before COP30

BONN: UN climate chief Simon Stiell urged countries on Thursday to accelerate negotiations ahead of the COP30 in Brazil as there was a lot left to be done.
Speaking after two weeks of technical talks in Bonn, Stiell closed the annual climate diplomacy event saying: “We need to go further, faster, and fairer.”
Bonn is home to the UN Climate Change Secretariat, which coordinates international climate policy and hosts preparatory talks each year ahead of climate summits.
“I’m not going to sugar coat... we have a lot more to do before we meet again in Belem,” he said.
COP30 is due to be held on November 10-21 in the Amazonian city which is the capital of Para state.
At last year’s UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan, rich nations agreed to increase climate finance to $300 billion a year by 2035, an amount decried as woefully inadequate.
Azerbaijan and Brazil, which is hosting this year’s COP30 conference, have launched an initiative to reduce the shortfall, with the expectation of “significant” contributions from international lenders.
This year’s COP comes as average global temperatures in the past two years have exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius benchmark set under the Paris climate accord a decade ago.
“There is so much more work to do to keep 1.5 alive, as science demands. We must find a way to get to the hard decisions sooner,” Stiell said.
Under the Paris Agreement, wealthy developed countries — those most responsible for global warming to date — are obliged to pay climate finance to poorer nations.
Other countries, most notably China, make voluntary contributions.