On the 17th, two days before the G7 Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping summoned the heads of the five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan) to Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China, the starting point of the Silk Road, to hold a ‘China-Central Asia Summit ‘ . and issued a joint statement.
Since China established diplomatic ties with the five Central Asian countries individually in 1992, this is the first time that China has held a separate face-to-face multilateral summit with the leaders of the five countries at the same time.
When it was expected that China’s containment, such as joint response to economic coercion and the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, would become the main topics of the G7 summit, three attempts were made to unite ahead of time, telling the Western world that ‘China still has many friends’. was intended to imprint the
Although the status of the meeting did not reach that of the G7 , it was in the nature of trying to secure allies with the common denominator of authoritarianism.
Even after gaining independence from the former Soviet Union, the five Central Asian countries were traditionally recognized as being under Russian influence. In fact, these countries have been lukewarm about strengthening cooperation with China because they have been paying attention to Russia.
However, after the war in Ukraine, the game changed as Russia relied on China for its overall economy. As China seeks to expand its influence by using its status as the ‘world’s second largest economy’ as leverage, Central Asian countries are also gathering in line with ‘China Money’.
In fact, in a series of bilateral talks on the 17th, President Xi emphasized mutual support for “core interests” such as sovereignty and territorial integrity, joint construction of the Belt and Road (Land, Sea, and Silk Road), and strengthening economic and trade cooperation, such as expanding agricultural imports.
In a bilateral meeting with Kazakhstani President Tokayev, he also confirmed the common position of “opposing Western criticism of human rights abuses and ‘color revolution’.”
On the 19th, he also announced the concept of “building a community with a shared future in China and Central Asia.”
In a keynote speech at the summit held in Xi’an that day, President Xi said, “China will provide a total of 26 billion yuan (approximately 4.9 trillion won) in loans and grant aid to cooperate with Central Asian countries and help them develop themselves. will be provided,” he said.
In addition, in order to build a ‘community of destiny’ between China and Central Asia, ‘mutual cooperation’ means mutual cooperation to prevent and respond to external invasions or disasters, ‘common development’, ‘universal security’, and ‘generational He emphasized that four things must be maintained, including ‘friendliness’.
Experts say that this summit will allow China to replace Russia’s influence in Central Asia.
Coinciding with the China-Central Asia Summit, the G7 summit was held in Hiroshima, Japan on the 19th.
Japan, this year’s chair country, invited heads of state from 15 countries, including G7 leaders from the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, along with President Seok-Yeol Yoon of Korea, and leaders from eight observer countries including Australia, India, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros, and the Cook Islands . did.
In addition, European Union ( EU ) ‘two-top’ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Charles Michel, who usually accompany the G7, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who are specially attending this time, are all members of staff. This amounts to 19 people.
It was Japan’s intention to expand its influence by concentrating on major international issues such as responding to the war in Ukraine and containing China.
At this meeting, the leaders of each country agreed to keep North Korea, China, and Russia in check while unwavering support for Ukraine.
In a joint statement released on the 20th, the G7 leaders strongly criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and promised unwavering support for Ukraine. It also condemned North Korea’s firing of ballistic missiles with unprecedented frequency.
As for China, it warned against attempting to unilaterally change the status quo by force and urged it to resolve the issue peacefully with Taiwan. While not ‘decoupling’ (excluding it from the supply chain) with China, it said it would reduce over-reliance (on China) in a very important supply chain.
President Zelensky will attend a session dealing with the situation in Ukraine on the 21st, the last day of the G7 summit. He also holds bilateral talks with heads of state, including US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The French government plane on which President Zelensky was on board arrived at Hiroshima Airport around 3:30 pm on the 20th. It is the first visit by President Zelensky to Asia since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. Shortly after arriving in Hiroshima, he explained the meaning of attending the G7 Hiroshima Summit
through his Twitter account as “an important meeting with Ukrainian partners and friends” and “security and enhanced cooperation for our (Ukraine) victory.” After arriving in Hiroshima, President Zelensky immediately met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Italian Prime Minister Giorza Meloni, and French President Emmanuel Macron at a hotel in the city. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that President Zelensky may have asked for stronger sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine during bilateral meetings with heads of state. While Ukraine has been consistently requesting F-16 fighter support from the United States , it is known that President Biden approved the F-16 fighter training plan for Ukrainian pilots, and there is a possibility that additional discussions regarding this will be held between the leaders of the two countries.
The unprecedented announcement of the G7 Joint Statement on the 20th, one day before the closing day, was related to President Zelensky’s visit to Japan메이저놀이터. It is widely believed that the timing of the announcement was brought forward to avoid losing interest in the joint statement due to attention being drawn to President Zelensky, who is scheduled to attend the G7 summit on the 21st and give a lecture .
What remains now is a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the G7 leaders.
Attention is also drawn to the face-to-face meeting between President Yun and President Zelensky, who are staying in Hiroshima until the 21st as the heads of observers.
In this regard, the Office of the President announced that President Yun accepted President Zelensky’s request for a meeting and that a Korea-Ukraine summit would be held on the 21st, the last day of the schedule. This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders.
The meeting is expected to focus mainly on humanitarian aid and participation in post-war recovery in Ukraine, which is suffering from the Russian invasion.
A high-ranking official in the presidential office showed a cautious stance on the possibility of providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, saying, “We have to consider all the circumstances and constraints in which we can provide (support).”
On the 16th, Mrs. Olena Zelenska, who visited Korea as a special envoy of President Zelensky, met with President Yun and Mrs. Kim Kun-hee at the Presidential Office in Yongsan to request expansion of aid to Ukraine.
Each has a different calculation method, but Asia has passed through the middle of turbulence as leaders of the new Cold War, including President Xi, President Biden, G7 leaders, Ukrainian President Zelensky and his wife, and President Yoon, gathered one after another on the stage of China, Japan, and Korea . .