Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a videoconference on Tuesday in which he delivered an important speech to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and five Central Asian countries.

In his address to representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, President Xi shared the story of Ismail Daurov, a young Kazakh helping with the local COVID-19 response in Shaanxi Province, who once said, "I am a foreigner, but I am not an outsider."

"It is heartwarming episodes like this one that have formed a stirring symphony of Chinese and Central Asian people supporting each other through thick and thin," Xi said.