News Snapshot:
Beijing: Beijing on Monday announced that President Xi Jinping will host a two-day summit with the leaders of five Central Asian countries next week as China works to expand its influence in the area. According to China’s foreign ministry, leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are likely to attend the summit from 18 to 19 May. Calling the summit in the city of Xi’an the first-of-its-kind, Chinese state media said the focus will be on strengthening economic and diplomatic ties with Beijing. China, the world’s second-largest energy consumer, has invested billions of dollars to tap natural gas reserves...