Xi to attend 2nd China-Central Asia Summit in Astana

At the invitation of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President Xi Jinping will attend the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana from June 16 to 18, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Friday.

The first China-Central Asia Summit was held in Xi'an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi in northwest China, in May 2023. It concluded with the Xi'an Declaration, saying that a mechanism for meetings among the heads of state of China and Central Asian countries has been officially established.

The declaration stated that the summit is held every two years alternately in China on the one side, and in one of the Central Asian countries in alphabetical order on the other side.

Xi to attend 2nd China-Central Asia Summit in Astana

Xi to attend 2nd China-Central Asia Summit in Astana

Xi to attend 2nd China-Central Asia Summit in Astana

Xi to attend 2nd China-Central Asia Summit in Astana

Chinese stock markets have wrapped up a buoyant first week of 2026, with the Shanghai Composite up close to 3 percent since Monday, hitting a decade high, according to China Global Television Network's financial market analyst Timothy Pope on Friday.

Chinese stocks closed higher on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.92 percent to 4,120.43 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.15 percent higher at 14,120.15 points.

"The markets have wrapped up a very buoyant first week of the year, with the Shanghai Composite up close to 3 percent since Monday, and 0.9 percent today alone, taking it to a fresh decade high. I feel like I've already used those words a lot this week. The Shenzhen Component added almost 1.2 percent today, also had a very good day. Today the market got some welcome news in the latest inflation data, showing consumer prices rose to a three year high in December. The CPI was up 0.8 percent with particularly big jumps in the price of foods, so fresh vegetables and beef in particular, that's according to the National Bureau of Statistics, but both signs of easing consumer deflationary pressure, was definitely welcomed by the market, as was signs in the producer price index, that was responding to the governments campaign against involution, is starting ease pressures there," said the analyst.

"But it has been pointed out by market analysts that investors are still favoring non-consumer facing sectors when it comes to equities at the moment, so some of that is coincidental, some of it's not. Investors are still chasing metals stocks, in particular, gold miners still riding high on Friday despite a drop in the price of spot gold. But in China we have actually seen the gold bullion trading at a huge premium this week, more than 20 dollars above the global spot price this week, with interest in bullion only growing in the new year. And that's been reflected in equities. But most sectors trading higher today, we saw the big exception being financial stocks, so there was some profit taking on the big banks and insurers after some gains earlier in the week," he said.

China stock markets wrap up buoyant first week of 2026: CGTN market analyst