Xi holds welcome ceremony for Central Asian leaders

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a welcome address for the visiting Central Asian leaders and their spouses in the city of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Thursday.

The leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are in the city to attend the China-Central Asia Summit. Deepening cooperation between China and Central Asia is a strategic choice made by the leaders of the present generation with an eye on the future, Xi said.

China welcomed Central Asian countries to board the train of its development and jointly build a brighter future for China-Central Asia cooperation, he added. The leaders also watched a welcoming performance on Thursday evening at the Tang Paradise, a complex based on the site of the original relic of an imperial garden dating back to the Tang Dynasty.