The Belt & Road Portal, Yidaiyilu.gov, reported on the launching ceremony of the Chinese Language and Culture Center at the Naryn State University of Kyrgyzstan on June 20. About 50 people attended the opening ceremony, including the Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Du Dewen, the Minister of Education and Science of Kyrgyzstan Kanybek Imanaliev, the Governor of the Naryn Province, and representatives of the academic community at the Naryn State University. At the opening ceremony, the Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Du Dewen spoke about the results of the China-Central Asia Summit and the meeting of the leaders of China and Kyrgyzstan in China’s Xi’an city last month. Du Dewen noted that China - Kyrgyzstan relations have entered a new era, and cooperation between the neighboring regions of the two countries has opened up new opportunities. The ambassador also expressed high hopes that the establishment of the Chinese Language and Culture Center will help the Naryn region participate in the Belt and Road projects and contribute to building a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future.

On June 21, representatives from the China International Import Expo (CIIE) Bureau and the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan held an online working conference to discuss the participation of Kazakhstani enterprises in the Expo. (Huanenet) The 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) will be held from November 5 to 10, 2023, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, China. Kazakhstan has reserved a 125-square-meter booth for food and agricultural products at this round of the CIIE. This year, the "QazTrade" Trade Policy Development Center under Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration has booked the exhibition space, with an expected participation of 25 Kazakhstani companies. The representative of the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan stated noted that Kazakhstan is a major strategic and trading partner of China. As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, the importance of the bilateral relationship is further highlighted. The Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan expressed willingness to provide comprehensive assistance in organizing the participation of Kazakhstani enterprises in the Import Expo. During the talks, the representative from the CIIE Bureau also reported on the achievements of the 5th CIIE held in 2022, which saw the participation of over 50 heads of state and 178 exhibiting countries, with a transaction volume exceeding US$ 350 billion.

Also on June 21, Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations, stressed the need for the international community to maintain dialogue and engagement with the Afghan interim government at the UN Security Council Briefing on Afghanistan (Xinhua). At the meeting, Zhang Jun emphasized that Afghanistan is at a critical phase of transitioning from chaos to order and that it needs continued input and attention from the international community and the United Nations. He also stated that China will call upon relevant countries to lift unilateral sanctions on Afghanistan and urged the US to return Afghanistan’s overseas assets frozen by the US. Zhang Jun highlighted that as Afghanistan’s neighbor, China has always followed the situation in Afghanistan, and it will continue to provide help to the best of its ability to Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development, looking forward to the early achievement of peace, stability, and prosperity in Afghanistan.

It was also reported by the Chinese media that from June 21 to 22, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov paid an official visit to Azerbaijan, during which he held talks with President of Azerbaijan Aliyev, and the two sides communicated on cooperation in the fields of transport, trade, energy, agriculture, and industry. (Chinanews) As reported on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office, Smailov emphasized during the meeting that Azerbaijan is Kazakhstan’s most important trade and economic partner in the South Caucasus region. In the first four months of this year, the mutual trade reached US$ 185 million. Smailov said that Kazakhstan is ready to continue expanding economic and trade ties with Azerbaijan and raise the volume of mutual trade to US$ 1 billion. The Minister of Industry and Infrastructural Development Garabayev noted in an interview with the media on June 22 that the two countries focused on discussing the joint development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, and that Georgia is expected to join the plans to achieve tariff unifications and maximum simplification of customs clearance procedures.