Regional security on agenda as Xi visits

President Xi Jinping arrived in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan yesterday on his first trip abroad since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Xi, during his three-day visit to Central Asia, is scheduled to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan, where he is expected to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Their meeting comes as Russia is suffering serious setbacks in Ukraine, but China has stood firm in its support of Putin and a "no limits" friendship.

Xi's plane touched down in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan and he was greeted on the red-carpeted runway by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Both leaders and their delegations were wearing masks.

Xi, in an article for Chinese state media, said Beijing was prepared to work with Kazakhstan to "deepen cooperation in law enforcement, security and defense."

He said also China wanted to work with Kazakhstan on drug trafficking and transnational organized crime as well as what China calls the "three evils."

Beijing has previously used the term "three evils" - defined as terrorism, separatism and religious extremism - to refer to its crackdown in its region of Xinjiang, which borders Kazakhstan. China stands accused of detaining over one million Uygurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, but it vociferously denies the allegations.

The Central Asian region is also key to China's Belt and Road Initiative, a trillion-dollar push to improve trade links across the globe by building landmark infrastructure.

The highlight of Xi's trip, however, was expected later in Uzbekistan, where he is due to meet with Putin, Tokayev and leaders from India, Pakistan and three more ex-Soviet Central Asian countries.

Xi said that the group had "set a fine example of a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and proved itself an important and constructive force."