China Receives Surprise Economic Report Card, Goes All Out to Secure Allies

China Strengthens Cooperation with Five Central Asian Countries
Economic Shield Against Western Bloc Offensive Including the US

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China, which is in sharp confrontation with the United States over issues such as responsibility for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, Taiwan independence movements, Xinjiang Uyghur human rights, and South China Sea territorial disputes, is strengthening cooperation with neighboring countries. It appears that the Chinese government, having received a surprising economic report card, is moving to secure allies.

According to China's state-run People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency on the 17th, Wang Yi (王毅), Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister, held a video conference on the 16th with foreign ministers from five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

During the meeting, Minister Wang emphasized cooperation, stating, "The Chinese government values the development of strategic partnership relations with each Central Asian country."

He added, "Let us cooperate to overcome COVID-19 and promote the economy to seek mutual benefits."

The foreign ministers of the five Central Asian countries responded, saying, "We are close neighbors to China and politically trust China," and that mutual benefits are expanding.

They also said, "China's response to the infectious disease has been very well managed, and the results are clear, serving as an international model."

In particular, the five foreign ministers firmly opposed the politicization of infectious diseases, targeting the United States.

They also expressed support for China's Belt and Road Initiative (一帶一路) project.

This is the first time the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has held talks with the foreign ministries of the five Central Asian countries. Among the five countries, three share borders with China, and two are adjacent to China.

As China's economy rebounds positively, China's influence over neighboring countries is expected to grow stronger. On the 16th, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that the gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter increased by 3.2% compared to the same period last year.

Considering that the global economy is not functioning normally due to the spread of COVID-19, this is a remarkable figure.

It is highly likely that the Chinese government will use the economy as a shield against the offensive from the United States and other Western camps. The Chinese economy can serve as a 'carrot' to neighboring countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's (習近平) actions support this outlook.

On the 15th, the day before the GDP announcement, President Xi sent a letter to the 'Global CEO Council' stating that China will promote economic globalization.

President Xi said that China's long-term development trend has fundamentally not changed and cannot change, and that efforts will be made to build an open world economy. He reiterated commitments to six major stabilities: employment, finance, trade, foreign investment attraction, investment, and forecasting processes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.