BISHKEK - China is playing a very important role in Asian and global economic affairs, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Takehiko Nakao said Thursday.

China is an important economic growth engine of Asia and the global economy, so there is no question that China is playing a very important role in the regional economy and in other ways, said Nakao at a press conference of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the CAREC, citing the instance that China is promoting regional cooperation.

Nakao also pointed out that China is the member of the CAREC, which supports economic cooperation in Central Asia. Between the CAREC and the Silk Road Economic Belt, there are so much connectivity. Therefore, he said, the CAREC program and the Silk Road Economic Belt should seek cooperation.

The CAREC program is an ADB-supported initiative. Launched in 2001, it aims to encourage economic cooperation among countries in Central Asia.

The program promotes regional cooperation in transport, energy, trade facilitation, and other key sectors of mutual interest among the 10 member countries, namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

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