XI'AN, China -- China is hosting the first face-to-face summit meeting with the leaders of five Central Asian countries this week, hoping to strengthen relationships in the region to counteract this week's Group of Seven industrialized nations summit in Hiroshima.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will host the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Xi'an on Thursday and Friday, with a joint document pledging cooperation to be signed. This is the first such summit meeting since China and the five countries established diplomatic ties in 1992.
