News Snapshot:
As G7 leaders prepare to meet in the Japanese city of Hiroshima this weekend, China’s Xi Jinping will be hosting the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for the first, in-person China-Central Asia summit. The two-day meeting, which opens on Thursday in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi’an, reflects Beijing’s growing influence in the five former Soviet republics that became independent in 1991. The summit is expected to focus on energy, economic development and security cooperation, with the leaders signing a number of agreements. But in the background is the question of the five Central Asian states’ relationship...
