Zhuoomart Autol Bayev (Photo courtesy of Chongyang Institute of Finance, Renmin University of China)
Zhuoomart Autol Bayev, a former prime minister of Kyrgyzstan and a foreign senior researcher at Chongyang Financial Research Institute of Renmin University of China, recently accepted an exclusive interview with overseas networks, and bluntly praised the "extremely diverse and beautiful" China circle. He praised the opportunity dividend brought by the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" for Central Asia and looked forward to Central Asia marching side by side with China on the road to modernization.
"It surprises me every time I go to China."
"Every time I go to China, I am pleasantly surprised. I can see new things, new developments, new buildings, new projects, new inventions and new visions every time! " When talking about his impression of China, Autol Bayev opened his mouth. He listed six "new" in one breath to describe the vibrant and ever-changing image of China in his eyes.
Autol Bayev, who calls himself a "friend of China", is not only a witness of Sino-Kyrgyz friendship, but also a witness of China’s development. Over the years, he has tirelessly paid attention to and studied the development of China, and visited China for many times, covering Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xinjiang … … "From north to south, from east to west, I have been lucky enough to visit most parts of China. I like to meet young people in China. They have a strong thirst for knowledge and a great desire for cooperation with other parts of the world. "
On-the-spot visit and personal observation provided fresh materials for Autol Bayev to understand China today, and also "unlocked" a new perspective for him to know the real China. Taking Xinjiang, which he has visited many times, as an example, "I learned that the China government has made great efforts to create employment opportunities for Xinjiang in recent years, provided high-quality education, and tried to connect Xinjiang with other parts of the country by building high-speed rail. Xinjiang has a good momentum of development in various fields, and its economic growth rate even exceeds the national average. I am sure that this kind of ‘ Help the rich first, then get rich ’ The policy is an innovation of China and a very important achievement of China. " He mentioned that there are many conspiracy theories and speculations in the western media around Xinjiang. "My suggestion is to let reporters go to Xinjiang to see for themselves, let them go deep into the most distant villages, talk to the people there and understand their actual feelings."
"Victory has been achieved in tackling poverty, and China will become the most advanced country in the world in the future. With the outstanding talents and diligent traditional virtues of the people of China, this vision will be realized. Kyrgyzstan and even the entire Central Asian region are willing to participate in this process and push Asia towards new prosperity prospects in this century. " Looking forward to the future development prospects of China, Autol Bayev is full of confidence.
"The Belt and Road Initiative has benefited Central Asia a lot"
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Kyrgyzstan is not only one of the first countries to support the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", but also a demonstration area for building the "Belt and Road". As distinguished professor of the Belt and Road College of Beijing Normal University, in Autol Bayev’s view, this initiative initiated by China has attracted hundreds of countries to participate in it and has really become a global initiative. Taking advantage of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, Central Asian countries, including Kyrgyzstan, have benefited a lot and are becoming hot spots for development.
Having worked in international trade, Autol Bayev has an in-depth and intuitive observation on the economic and trade cooperation between China and Kyrgyzstan. He said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties 31 years ago, China-Kyrgyzstan economic cooperation has achieved fruitful results. China is Kyrgyzstan’s largest trading partner. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume reached US$ 15.5 billion, up 105.6% year-on-year. In the process of building the "Belt and Road" with China, Kyrgyzstan attaches great importance to the transformation and upgrading of infrastructure, mainly transportation and energy, with a view to promoting healthy economic development, and the actual results are also very remarkable. For example, he said that the two key roads that China assisted Kyrgyzstan in building have effectively promoted the local economic development, and also provided sea exports, making Kyrgyzstan, which has continuous mountains and is far away from the sea, change from a "land lock country" to a "land link country" in one fell swoop.
Autol Bayev has high hopes for the future of bilateral relations. He said that China and Kyrgyzstan should find good strategies, actively expand new areas of cooperation, and promote economic and trade cooperation to improve quality and efficiency. "Kyrgyzstan has a large population receiving higher education. They sincerely hope to integrate into the 21st century, explore new knowledge, embrace the digital economy and devote themselves to basic research and applied research. It is extremely important for China and Kyrgyzstan to carry out cooperation in related fields." He also suggested that the two sides should strengthen the exchange of talents in universities, such as cooperation between universities to carry out scientific research, and the Chinese side invited young people from Kyrgyzstan to study in scientific research institutions and universities in China.
Autol Bayev said that in retrospect, China’s exchanges with Central Asia have a long history and they have a heart-to-heart relationship with each other. In the new era, people in China and Central Asia are seeking to jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality. As a close neighbor of the Millennium, Central Asia looks forward to working side by side with China on the road of modernization.
"Central Asia welcomes peaceful development with other countries"
In today’s world, unilateralism prevails in some western countries, and the cold war mentality is emerging. Central Asia, as the hinterland of Eurasia, has an important geostrategic position, and it is inevitably under the pressure of some hegemonic countries to "take sides". In this regard, Autol Bayev believes that Central Asia has no intention to participate in competition and confrontation, and is willing to coexist peacefully with other countries and seek common development.
Talking about the current international situation, Autol Bayev mentioned his new book — — Central Asia’s Economic Rebirth in the Shadow of the New Great Game. In the book, he reviews the development of Central Asia after more than 30 years of independence, and analyzes the forces that are affecting Central Asia in the game of great powers.
He said that the overall economic strength of Central Asia is not outstanding and does not want to be involved in the game of big countries. In his view, Central Asia maintains good political and economic relations with Russia, and the trade and investment between the two sides are considerable. China is the second largest economy in the world, and its economic scale is growing at an alarming rate. As for western countries, if they want to invest in Central Asia, they will not face obstacles.
Autol Bayev emphasized that Central Asia welcomes investors from all over the world. "No matter who it is, as long as it is out of kindness, not to compete with other countries, we are willing to cooperate with it. We yearn for world peace and are willing to cooperate with all parties to make Central Asia a prosperous and stable region full of development opportunities. " (Overseas network Liu Qiang Intern Shang Ruiwen)
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