Leaders of five central Asian nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — have gathered in Xi'an, China for the first China-Central Asia Summit. While China is central Asia's biggest trading partner, the region is a vital link in China's Belt and Road Initiative, a mega infrastructure umbrella going on its tenth anniversary. How can deeper and broader relations better benefit both sides? What are the implications of China's growing engagement with Central Asia? To answer these questions and more, we are glad to talk to Djoomart Otorbaev, the former Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, who just published a book by the title of "Central Asia's Economic Rebirth in the Shadow of the New Great Game."