China’s Xi hosts central Asia summit as Russian influence wanes

China’s President Xi Jinping is in the central city of Xian where he is hosting his first-ever summit with the leaders of five Central Asian nations, underlining Beijing’s growing influence in a region that Russia has long considered its own back yard.

The two-day event brings together the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan whose countries are crucial to China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).