Chinese FM to visit 3 Central Asian countries: spokeswoman

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's upcoming visit to three Central Asian countries will inject more positive energy into the building of a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

At the invitation of Kyrgyzstan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheenbek Kulubaev, Uzbekistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Bakhtiyor Saidov, and Tajikistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Wang Yi, also member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, will visit the three countries and hold strategic dialogs respectively with their foreign ministers from November 19 to 22, Mao announced at the press briefing.

"Since the beginning of this year, President Xi Jinping has held multiple meetings with President Japarov, President Mirziyoyev, and President Rahmon, respectively, elevating China-Kyrgyzstan, China-Uzbekistan, and China-Tajikistan relations to new heights. To implement the consensus reached by the heads of state, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit the three countries and hold strategic dialogs respectively with their foreign ministers to exchange views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual concern," Mao said.

"We believe that this visit will help fully implement the outcomes of the second China-Central Asia Summit and the consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and the heads of state of the three countries. Guided by the China-Central Asia spirit, the visit will help enhance political mutual trust and traditional friendship, deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and inject more positive energy into advancing the China-Central Asia community with a shared future and bilateral communities with a shared future," she said.

Chinese FM to visit 3 Central Asian countries: spokeswoman

Two major Qatari energy facilities shut down operations after being damaged during Iran's strikes targeting the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said on Tuesday, adding that the situation had been contained.

QatarEnergy announced on Monday that it had suspended liquefied natural gas (LNG) production following attacks on two of its energy facilities, and on Tuesday said it was suspending production of downstream natural gas products such as urea and methanol.

The shutdown sent gas prices skyrocketing on global energy markets, provoking fears of an energy crisis sparked by the conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking during his weekly press conference, Al-Ansari said that the decision to shut down the facilities was taken as a precaution, to ensure the safety of personnel and infrastructure after the strike damaged key production and processing sites.

"The damage was contained and now the operations to assess, technically, the safety of the facilities is underway. And from the defensive posture, as you have seen, we have been ready in monitoring and dealing with all of these attacks," he said.

Al-Ansari said that Qatar is committed to de-escalating the situation, and added that Qatar had not had any contact with Iran since Feb 28.

"Qatar's diplomatic stance has always been firm and clear: committed to peace, actively promoting de-escalation, advocating dialogue and consultation, and striving to resolve the conflict peacefully," he said.

Major Qatari energy facilities damaged in Iranian strikes: foreign ministry