Xi'an to Host Eurasian Forum as Trade, Green Development and Border Delays Shape Agenda

September Gathering Will Bring Eurasian Cooperation to Xi'an

Xi'an will host the 11th Euro-Asia Economic Forum from September 23 to 25, 2025, bringing government officials, business executives and scholars to northwest China's Shaanxi Province for discussions on trade, investment, sustainable development and closer regional ties.

The gathering will feature 13 sub-forums and more than 10 economic and trade exchange activities. Organizers also plan to release a white paper examining Eurasian economic trends under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China's framework for cooperation on infrastructure, trade and development.

The forum's theme is "Unleashing New Synergies in Eurasia, Co-Building a New Pattern for Sustainable Development". Its agenda connects economic, political and cultural cooperation at a time of shifting alliances, economic uncertainty and growing pressure to make development more environmentally sustainable.

Xi'an brings both history and working transport connections to the event. Once the eastern terminus of the ancient Silk Road, the city now serves as a hub for international trade, logistics and cultural exchange. More than 30,000 freight trains have departed from Xi'an for destinations across Eurasia, while new air routes are extending its international reach.

The forum operates within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). For China, it is a platform to present its modernization efforts, advance diplomatic priorities and support cooperation involving multiple countries. For participating governments and businesses, the practical agenda includes moving goods more efficiently, attracting investment and managing the financial and environmental pressures that accompany new infrastructure.

The planned gathering comes as Central Asian countries seek stronger economies and a wider choice of partners while balancing relationships with China, Russia, the European Union and others.

A Forum With Two Decades of History

The Euro-Asia Economic Forum began in 2005 and takes place every two years. It brings together SCO member states, observer countries and dialogue partners, with participants drawn from government, business, universities and international organizations.

The 2025 edition is jointly organized by the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government, the SCO Secretariat, China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China and other institutions. Its 13 sub-forums will address industrial capacity cooperation, rule-making, cultural exchange, technological innovation and collaborative governance.

Industrial capacity cooperation concerns how countries work together to expand their ability to produce goods. Rule-making and collaborative governance concern the rules and joint decisions needed to make cooperation work across national borders. Together, these subjects connect investment in physical projects with the policies needed to operate them.

Niu Kai, vice mayor of Xi'an and a member of the organizing committee, has described the forum as serving China's broader diplomatic objectives, presenting the achievements of Chinese modernization and strengthening connections between people across Eurasia.

Expected delegates include political dignitaries, officials at ministerial level, local governors, ambassadors, multinational executives and scholars. Participants will come from Central, South and West Asia, as well as countries cooperating through the Belt and Road Initiative.

Several dates help explain how the gathering fits into the region's recent economic development:

• 2005: The Euro-Asia Economic Forum was launched.
• 2024: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan recorded strong economic growth, according to the Asian Development Bank.
• September 23 to 25, 2025: Xi'an is scheduled to host the forum's 11th edition.

Why Xi'an Is Central to the Event

Xi'an's selection connects the city's Silk Road history with its modern role in moving goods and people. Its position in the China-Europe freight train network makes it a working link between China and markets across Eurasia.

The city has recently hosted the Silk Road International Exposition and the Conference of Shaanxi Entrepreneurs. Those events, alongside the coming forum, reflect its role as a meeting place for Chinese businesses and international partners.

Xi'an's airport has expanded rapidly, adding routes to Chicago, Hanoi and Istanbul. Its growing freight train network and new air cargo routes support trade with Central Asia, Europe and destinations farther afield.

The city is also developing zones for cross-border e-commerce, which allows businesses to sell goods to customers in other countries through online platforms. Such activity depends on more than internet access: goods still need reliable transport and procedures for crossing borders.

Cultural projects form another part of Xi'an's international profile. They include what is described as the world's first on-site museum within an airport terminal, placing a cultural showcase inside a major transport facility.

By hosting the forum, Xi'an aims to reinforce its position as a gateway for Eurasian cooperation and present itself as a model for sustainable urban development. The agenda links that ambition to the city's transport connections, business activity and cultural exchanges.

Trade Growth Brings Investment and Financial Pressures

Central Asia's economic performance gives the discussions a substantial regional setting. According to the Asian Development Bank, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan all posted strong growth in 2024, supported by infrastructure investment and expanding trade corridors.

China has become an increasingly important economic partner through investments in railways, ports and energy infrastructure. The launch of the Kashi-Andijan railway and increased Chinese participation in the Middle Corridor reflect a more active approach to connecting the region's economies.

The Middle Corridor connects China with Europe through Central Asia and the Caspian Sea. A trade corridor is a connected route for moving goods, involving transport infrastructure and the arrangements that allow cargo to pass between countries.

The European Union, World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are also funding and supporting critical infrastructure projects. Their involvement places Eurasian connectivity within a wider network of international investment and cooperation.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan remain heavily indebted to China, while Turkmenistan relies on natural gas exports to the Chinese market. These relationships bring questions about debt sustainability and economic dependency into discussions of regional growth.

Debt sustainability means being able to meet repayment obligations without putting excessive strain on public finances. Economic diversification means developing a wider range of industries, products or trading partners, so that national income depends less heavily on a narrow set of activities.

The forum will provide a setting to discuss those choices, including how to make economies more resilient and spread the benefits of growth more fairly. Central Asian governments must pursue investment while also managing relationships with Russia, China and Western partners.

Green Development Connects Trade With Climate Policy

Sustainable development is central to the 2025 agenda. Eurasian countries are placing greater attention on renewable energy, environmental cooperation and ways to expand their economies while limiting damage to the environment.

The European Union and Asia Pacific together account for nearly 70 percent of global emissions. That share makes cooperation between them consequential for the transition toward cleaner energy and production.

The EU has embedded environmental objectives in trade agreements and launched targeted green cooperation initiatives across Asia. These include partnerships involving critical minerals, hydrogen and clean energy, alongside financial support for retiring coal plants early and developing renewable energy systems.

Critical minerals are materials needed for important industrial technologies. Their place in green cooperation connects access to raw materials with the equipment and infrastructure required for changes in energy production.

The Belt and Road Initiative has also begun giving greater priority to green infrastructure. China is investing in projects intended to support growth with lower carbon emissions and stronger environmental protection.

Asia Pacific faces substantial climate risks, with extreme weather affecting millions of people. Air pollution also causes millions of premature deaths each year. Those pressures make environmental policy a matter of public health and economic security, as well as emissions reduction.

The forum's sustainability discussions are expected to seek partnerships and practical action. Turning those ambitions into working projects will require sustained political commitment, financing and environmental safeguards within development plans.

Border Delays Put Transport Rules in Focus

Eurasia's growing freight traffic is testing border infrastructure. The International Road Transport Union (IRU) says crossings are struggling to cope with rising volumes, creating long queues and costly delays.

Infrastructure gaps and inefficient logistics add to the problem. A transport connection can carry more trade only when the roads, railways, border facilities and administrative procedures along it work together.

The TIR system, short for Transports Internationaux Routiers, has helped reduce the time and cost involved in crossing borders. It provides an international customs transit framework for moving goods between countries.

Express TIR Green Lanes and electronic systems for declaring cargo before arrival are being used to improve the efficiency and security of trade. Processing information earlier can help border authorities prepare before a shipment reaches a crossing.

The IRU has called for the swift adoption of eTIR across the region to extend those benefits through digital procedures. The forum will examine such approaches alongside initiatives to strengthen transport corridors and simplify customs processes.

For Xi'an, the issue is directly connected to its expanding rail and air cargo links. Businesses using those routes need goods to move through the entire journey reliably, including the points where one country's procedures meet another's.

The SCO Provides a Wider Diplomatic Setting

The SCO has broadened its activities from security and counter-terrorism to economic and military cooperation. It now includes 10 permanent members and 16 countries with dialogue partner or observer status, placing it among the world's largest regional organizations.

Recent summits have brought together Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Such meetings provide a platform for discussions on trade, connectivity, regional security and sovereignty.

They also serve as displays of solidarity among countries associated with the Global South. Within that setting, the Xi'an forum gives economic and business discussions a place alongside the bloc's broader diplomatic activity.

Frictions between member states complicate efforts to turn shared statements into practical cooperation. The SCO's impact on security and economic affairs remains debated, even as its meetings continue to bring governments together.

Central Asian countries are pursuing what is often called multivector diplomacy. In simple terms, they are maintaining relationships with several major powers rather than concentrating their foreign relations on a single partner.

That approach allows them to advance their own development priorities while engaging China, Russia, the EU and others. The forum's focus on inclusion and dialogue fits this wider search for a balance between regional cooperation and national autonomy.

Xi'an's hosting also reflects China's ambition to help shape an international order beyond American leadership and to present itself as a supporter of multilateral cooperation and sustainable development.

How Xi'an Fits Among Other Regional Forums

The Euro-Asia Economic Forum is one of several gatherings seeking to strengthen regional economic cooperation. Others have different memberships and geographic priorities, but also bring governments and businesses together around investment and development.

The Eurasian Economic Forum serves members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Its 2025 edition in Minsk attracted more than 2,700 participants from over 30 countries, showing the scale of interest in discussions about economic integration.

The Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok draws representatives from more than 70 countries. It provides another setting for dialogue and business cooperation, while Asia-focused conferences organized by the International Monetary Fund address the region's role in global growth, innovation and economic resilience.

Xi'an's forum places an explicit focus on connecting East and West. It seeks to bring the strengths of advanced and emerging economies into discussions of sustainable development and growth whose benefits are widely shared.

Its broad mix of officials, executives, scholars and international organizations is intended to turn those discussions into practical responses to common problems. The 2025 program combines that ambition with specific sessions on industry, rules, technology, culture and joint governance.

What the September Discussions Will Need to Address

The war in Ukraine, shifting power relationships and the need for economic diversification form part of the setting for the Xi'an gathering. Each affects how countries approach trade connections, investment and cooperation with major partners.

Central Asian governments are showing greater autonomy and confidence as they develop their own economic agendas. Infrastructure investment, digitalization and the green transition offer routes toward growth, while debt, environmental risks and political stability remain concerns.

The practical challenge is to connect these priorities. New transport infrastructure needs efficient borders; investment needs manageable financial terms; and development plans need environmental safeguards that protect people as economies expand.

The September program includes discussions, trade exchanges and a planned white paper, while specific agreements or project outcomes have not yet been announced. The next scheduled milestone is the forum itself, from September 23 to 25.

Xi'an offers a setting where those issues meet: a historic Silk Road city with expanding freight services, international flights and digital trade activity. The forum is expected to pursue new partnerships, policy initiatives and practical cooperation aimed at a more connected, prosperous and resilient Eurasia.

Key Points

• Xi'an will host the 11th Euro-Asia Economic Forum from September 23 to 25, 2025.
• The program includes 13 sub-forums, more than 10 economic and trade exchange activities, and a planned white paper on Eurasian economic trends under the Belt and Road Initiative.
• The forum operates within the SCO framework and brings together officials, business leaders, scholars and international organizations.
• Trade, industrial cooperation, technology, culture, sustainable development and joint governance are central subjects.
• More than 30,000 freight trains have departed from Xi'an for destinations across Eurasia.
• Border delays, debt sustainability, economic dependency and environmental risks will shape the discussions.
• Central Asian countries are balancing ties with China, Russia, the EU and other partners while advancing their own development plans.