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Video
Special> President Xi Jinping's Visit to Central Asia to include G20 and SCO Summits> Video
UPDATED: September 13, 2013
SCO Boosts Trade and Energy Cooperation
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Leaders from China, Russia and four Central Asian countries are due to meet in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek on September 13.

The group makes up the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional bloc that deals primarily with issues of security and terrorism. But doing so, the members say, requires increased cooperation, a theme highlighted by the Chinese President Xi Jinping during his tour of the region in the days before the summit.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, silk from China travelled through these mountains and valleys, all the way to the Mediterranean. It's been dubbed: the Silk Road.

And with that silk came philosophies and technologies; much of it the foundation for modern life in this region; and a relationship that still thrives today.

Svetlana Idrsova, national economic chamber of Kazakhstan, said, "Our businessmen have collaborated with Chinese businessmen for many years. And every year, we have a big China-Kazakhstan expo, where they sign many contracts and create joint ventures. In the first eight months of this year, Chinese goods made up 17 percent of the total volume of imports."

That trade goes both ways. Earlier this week, China purchased a $5 billion stake in Kashagan, a giant Kazakh oilfield in the Caspian sea, part of the 22 agreements signed during a visit this week by the Chinese President, Xi Jinping.

Oil export has always been a great source of pride and income for the people of Kazakhstan. This art installation in the city center pays tribute to just that. With an estimated 3 percent of the world's oil reserve, more of that stuff may soon start flowing out of here, thanks in part to a new refinery to be built by China.

China's leadership is trying to meet the energy demands of more than one billion people back home, while in return, they say, investing in China's neighbors. Last week in Turkmenistan, Xi signed a deal that would bring 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China each year, and would provide a boost for the Turkmen economy.

The Chinese president and his Turkmen counterpart, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, stressed: the deal symbolized a quote "strategic partnership" between the two countries.

But the strategy goes beyond that. During his trip of the region, which also included Russia and Uzbekistan, Xi called for the creation of a modern economic belt, to be based on the ancient Silk Road … as a way to strength ties and cooperation between China and the former Soviet countries.

Svetlana said, "All of us emerged from the Soviet Union. We had one language, one system of laws. Of course, things have changed, but the mentality is still similar. We have a common understanding of rules. And we can develop a trading relationship with China, as we did before. I think this was a good point made by the Chinese president."

Indeed, it was the reaction President Xi had been hoping for, as he looked to the past to help strengthen the future.

(CNTV.cn September 12, 2013)



 
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