On June 6, an intergovernmental agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was signed in Beijing under the auspices of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The railway will begin in Kashgar, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and enter Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan. In the future, it will reach West Asia and South Asia through the "Middle Corridor." How will this signature Belt and Road Initiative project bolster Kyrgyzstan's socioeconomic development? What does it say about the relations between China and Kyrgyzstan? In this edition of Leaders Talk, CMG's Wang Guan sat down with Akylbek Japarov, prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, in the capital city of Bishkek, to discuss the impact this major project will have on the landlocked country. Kyrgyzstan and China share a 1,000-kilometer border and the opening later this year of a third crossing will boost both trade and people-to-people exchange, Japarov notes. He believes China's development model "highly suits" his country and praises Chinese President Xi for his commitment to serving the interests of the Chinese nation. "The center of gravity of global decision-making is shifting," he observes. And as a true connoisseur of Chinese culture, Japarov also recites some of Li Bai's classic verses with Wang Guan.