The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Photo: VCG

The stock of China's direct investment in the five Central Asian countries exceeded $15 billion by the end of March this year, with the cumulative turnover of completed projects reaching $63.9 billion, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) told a press briefing on Thursday.

A number of large-scale projects have been successfully implemented, helping Central Asian countries to upgrade their industries, connect with each other and improve people's livelihoods, said spokesperson Shu Jueting.

MOFCOM is willing to work with the economic and trade departments of Central Asian countries to consolidate and develop the good momentum in trade and investment, Shu noted. 

The China-Central Asia Summit, which is the first major diplomatic event to be held in China this year, will take place in Xi'an, the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province on May 18 and 19. Experts expect the landmark gathering to provide a key opportunity to review the fruits of cooperation and inject new momentum into the development of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Central Asia.

Some "important political documents" will be signed at the summit, ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin disclosed at a routine press conference on Monday.

Up to now, China and all the five central Asian countries have signed cooperation documents on the joint construction of the BRI, formulated medium and long-term economic and trade cooperation plans, signed investment protection agreements, and the economic and trade cooperation mechanism is becoming more and more complete, according to the ministry.

As of the end of 2022, China's direct investment in the five Central Asian countries had reached nearly $15 billion, with a number of cooperation projects launched in fields such as oil and gas exploration, processing and manufacturing, and connectivity and digital technologies, data from the ministry showed.

Central Asia is a significant geopolitical reg