The 11th China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum, themed "Promoting Green Development and Building a Common Home", took place in Yinchuan, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, on Oct 26.

Shen Yueyue, vice-chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission (GNFCC) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

Edil Baisalov, deputy prime minister of Kyrgyzstan; Sulaimon Ziyozoda, deputy prime minister of Tajikistan; and Akmal Saidov, first deputy speaker of the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan's parliament, also delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.

Li Yifei, secretary of the CPC Ningxia Hui Autonomous Regional Committee and secretary of the leading Party members group of the Ningxia People's Congress Standing Committee, delivered a welcome speech at the ceremony, while Zhang Yupu, deputy secretary of the CPC Ningxia Hui Autonomous Regional Committee and chairman of the regional government, presided.

Chen Yong, chairman of the CPPCC Ningxia Hui Autonomous Regional Committee, and Zhuang Yan, deputy secretary of the CPC Ningxia Hui Autonomous Regional Committee, also attended the ceremony.

SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming, Kazakhstan's Ambassador to China Shakhrat Nuryshev, Counselor of the Embassy of Turkmenistan in China Bayram Klychmammedov, and Wu Yingqin, executive director of the secretariat of the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism, all delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.

Shen said President Xi Jinping and the heads of state of the five Central Asian countries jointly mapped out a new blueprint for China-Central Asia cooperation during the China-Central Asia Summit, adding that China is ready to work with Central Asian countries to advance mutually beneficial cooperation in all respects and better benefit the people of all six Central Asian countries.

Shen called for enhancing mutual support, building a community with a shared future, and promoting green cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), to consolidate the material foundation for ties among the six countries. Efforts should be made to improve the China-Central Asia Mechanism to build a flagship platform for cooperation, promote sub-national cooperation among the six countries, and practice multilateralism to foster a sound external environment for common development.

Baisalov extended congratulations on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), saying that under the leadership of President Xi, China has made remarkable achievements, which has attracted worldwide attention. He hailed Xi as not only a great leader of China, but also a good friend of Central Asian countries and their people.

Baisalov noted that Kyrgyzstan lauded the outcomes of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee which are expected to inject strong impetus into the advancement of Chinese modernization. The cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and China in green energy has made significant and sustained progress, he said.

China is taking a leading role in promoting clean energy and sustainable development through the application of advanced green technologies and upholding its commitment to green development, Baisalov added. He said he hoped that all parties will actively participate in Kyrgyzstan's development plans in areas such as renewable energy, water utilization, climate change response, and sustainable development of mountains.

Ziyodzoda said President Xi's state visit to Tajikistan in July this year was a landmark event for bilateral relations in the new era, which has strongly promoted the steady development of Tajikistan-China comprehensive cooperation.

Impressed by China's achievements in economic and social development and scientific and technological innovation, Ziyodzoda said Tajikistan is willing to deepen Belt and Road cooperation with China and welcomes more Chinese enterprises to participate in the construction of Tajikistan's free trade zones.

Tajikistan will continue to support the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and jointly maintain global and regional peace and stability, he added.

Saidov spoke highly of the remarkable achievements China has made in poverty alleviation and green development over the 75 years since the founding of the PRC. President Xi's proposal to build a China-Central Asia community with a shared future marks a new era in relations between China and Central Asian countries, Saidov said.

The world needs a prosperous Central Asia, and the GSI, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative put forward by China have also received extensive support from Central Asian countries, he added.

Uzbekistan and China have maintained close cooperation under the framework of the BRI, Saidov said, adding that China is a prioritized cooperation partner of Uzbekistan in emerging fields such as innovative technologies, poverty reduction and rural development, green energy and digital economy. Uzbekistan is willing to engage in exchanges with Ningxia Hui autonomous region in cooperation in artificial intelligence, he noted.

Addressing the ceremony, Li said that the first China-Central Asia Summit has injected new impetus into and opened up new prospects for friendly cooperation and a shared future between China and Central Asian countries.

Ningxia, as a rich land in western China, will thoroughly study and implement the important instructions of President Xi, the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the consensus reached by the heads of state at the China-Central Asia Summit, Li added.

The autonomous region will serve and integrate into China-Central Asia cooperation, further promote green development, broaden economic and trade cooperation, expand opening-up, and promote people-to-people exchanges, so as to share development opportunities with Central Asian countries, and jointly promote the building of a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future, he said.

In his address, Nuryshev noted that since the holding of the first China-Central Asia Summit last year, gratifying progress has been made in the building of the China-Central Asia Mechanism.

For the past years, the successful holding of the China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum has laid the foundation for the establishment and development of the mechanism, Nuryshev said.

He suggested giving priority to cooperation in trade, logistics, energy, mineral processing, food security, water conservation and desertification control, adding that Kazakhstan fully supports the work of China as the SCO's rotating presidency and the early full operation of the Secretariat of the China-Central Asia Mechanism.

Kazakhstan is actively preparing for the second China-Central Asia Summit, to be held in his country next year, Nuryshev said.

Klychmammedov said that last year's China-Central Asia Summit in Xi’an has drawn a blueprint for bilateral and multilateral cooperation among the six countries and adopted the Xi'an Declaration of the China-Central Asia Summit and a list of resolutions, which has become the fundamental basis for our bilateral and multilateral cooperation today.

He said that building an environmental-protection oriented economic development model is a priority of Turkmenistan's national policy, adding that he hoped that Chinese enterprises will continue to help Turkmenistan develop its green economy. Turkmenistan will continue to make its own contributions to deepening regional cooperation, he said.

Zhang briefed on the latest developments and cooperation priorities of the SCO. He lauded the cooperation achievements between China and Central Asian countries, saying that the SCO recognizes the important efforts made by Central Asian countries in maintaining regional peace, security and stability, and hoped that Central Asian countries would carry out bilateral and multilateral cooperation with other countries.

Focusing on the theme of the forum, "Promoting Green Development and Building a Common Home", Zhang also introduced the SCO's efforts to promote cooperation in ecological and environmental protection under the framework of the SCO Year of Ecology. He called on China and Central Asian countries to actively participate in activities related to the SCO Year of Sustainable Development in 2025.

Wu said that China and the five Central Asian countries have blazed a new trail of good-neighborliness, friendship and win-win cooperation over the past three decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties, setting a good example of a new type of international relations.

The China-Central Asia Mechanism is a pioneering initiative of China and the five Central Asian countries, which embodies the wisdom and efforts of the heads of state of the six countries, he said. The Secretariat of the Mechanism is ready to actively promote cooperation among all parties in green investment, green energy, green transportation, green agriculture, green finance, and green development standards, promote green development in China-Central Asia cooperation, and jointly build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future, Wu added.

Lei Dongsheng, a standing committee member and secretary-general of the CPC Ningxia Committee and director of the executive committee of the 11th China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum, read out the Yinchuan Initiative.

Prior to the opening ceremony, Shen Yueyue, leaders of Central Asian countries, leading representatives from home and abroad, Li Yifei, Zhang Yupu, and Chen Yong visited a photo exhibition showcasing the achievements of China-Central Asia cooperation.