President Xi Jinping chairs a summit via video link to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and five Central Asian countries in Beijing, on Jan 25, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - The China-Central Asia Summit will be held on May 18 and 19 in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. Chinese President Xi Jinping will chair the summit, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced here on Monday.

At China's invitation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan will be attending the summit, Hua said. 

During the third China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting in June 2022, all parties agreed to establish a China-Central Asia heads of state meeting mechanism. As part of a consensus reached by all parties, the first summit will be hosted by China, the foreign ministry announced last month.