CHINESE Premier Li Qiang will visit the central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan next week, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said today, as China seeks to forge deeper ties with the geopolitically vital region on its doorstep.

Li will travel to Kyrgyzstan from Tuesday to Friday where he will attend a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation heads of government and conduct an official visit, ministry spokesman Mao Ning said.

China has renewed its push for massive infrastructure projects in Central Asia as it aims to fill a vacuum left in former Soviet states by Russia.

The region is a crucial link in China’s trillion-dollar global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative.

Beijing said trade with Central Asia reached US$70 billion (RM333.6 billion) last year.

In May, President Xi Jinping hosted Central Asian leaders at a summit in the northern Chinese city of Xi’an, urging them to “fully unleash” their potential in trade, economic and infrastructure cooperation. – AFP, October 20, 2023.