Xi Takes Push for Global Sway to Central Asia with Kazakh Visit

Meeting with Leaders of Five Regional Countries Being Held Amid G-7 Summit in Canada

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BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping headed to Kazakhstan on June 16 for talks with Central Asian leaders, providing a counterpoint to a Group of Seven (G-7) summit by visiting a vast region at the nexus of competing interests from Washington to Beijing.

Mr. Xi, who is making only his third overseas trip in 2025, on June 16 met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and will attend the second gathering of the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan on June 17.

The summit in the Kazakh capital Astana is taking place in parallel to the G-7 event in Canada, and comes days after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Kazakhstan's foreign minister in Washington. Mr. Xi hosted the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit in the Chinese city of Xi'an two years ago.

A key objective for Mr. Xi in Kazakhstan, where he launched the sprawling Belt and Road infrastructure initiative more than a decade ago, is "future-proofing" China's economy for a potential rift with the U.S., according to Ms. Kate Mallinson, a partner at Prism Strategic Intelligence in London.

"China has come out of the last three years significantly stronger in Central Asia," she said. "Having observed the West's attempts to use its economic influence to isolate Russia since 2022, China continues to make efforts to safeguard its economy and supply chains against any future confrontation with the U.S."