A look back on the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an

      The China-Central Asia Summit has concluded in Xi'an. It was China's first major diplomatic activity this year, and it resulted in the Xi'an Declaration on May 19, focusing on all-out cooperation and deeper trade ties in the region. But this summit was also a unique opportunity for ordinary people to showcase their talent and passion. In this edition of the Hub with Wang Guan, Er Qiao, a Chinese cartoonist, shares how he wowed foreign guests with his cartoon depictions and drawings of Tang Niu, a Tang Dynasty (618-907) court lady symbolizing Xi'an. Wang Guan also talks to Aiza Kunanbayeva, aka Xiao Yun, a Kazakh student at Xi'an Petroleum University who volunteered at the China-Central Asia Summit as an interpreter. Wang Guan then looks at China-Uzbekistan relations and talks to Han Hua, president of the Beijing Belt and Road Cooperative Community, and to Ulugbeck Khasanov, a former aide to the Uzbek President and head of the Regional Security and Development Study Lab at the University of World Economics and Diplomacy. On the regional front, Han Hua remarks that Uzbekistan is now becoming Central Asia's transportation hub, connecting China to Europe via the Eurasian landmass. On the geopolitical front, Ulugbeck Khasanov reckons that Western criticisms of China's influence in the region illustrate that cooperation between China and Uzbekistan, and with Central Asia as a whole, is a resounding success.