Summit set to boost links with Central Asia.

The upcoming China-Central Asia Summit, to be chaired by President Xi Jinping, will further elevate ties between China and the five Central Asian countries, bring economic and trade cooperation to a higher level and deliver more tangible benefits to the people, officials and analysts said.

Xi will chair the summit on May 18 and 19 in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman HuaChunying announced on Monday.

The summit will bring together President Kassym-JomartTokayev of Kazakhstan, President SadyrJaparov of Kyrgyzstan, President EmomaliRahmon of Tajikistan, President SerdarBerdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan, and President ShavkatMirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, she said.

The gathering, one of the major diplomatic events to be hosted by China this year, will be a significant milestone in the history of ties between the two sides, Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a news briefing on Monday.

Xi will deliver an important speech at the summit, and the six heads of state will exchange views on the development of the China-Central Asia mechanism, cooperation in various sectors and major international and regional issues of common concern, he said.

Key political documents will also be signed during the summit, he said. 'It is our belief that under the joint efforts from various sides, the summit will draw up a new blueprint for China-Central Asia relations and usher in a new era for cooperation.'

Total trade volume between China and the five Central Asian countries reached a record $70 billion last year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Li Yongquan, head of the China Society for Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, said China has always respected the five Central Asian countries' sovereignty, independence and their right to choose development paths suited to their own national conditions.

'China has always seen Central Asia as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, while the stability and development of the region is directly related to China's own development,' Li said.

Last year, Xi chaired a virtual summit in Beijing to...