He added that his country can play a significant role in enhancing trade and economic cooperation in the region.

"Our region, as President Xi mentioned in his speech, is home to 3 billion people, more than the population of Europe. No doubt the countries in the region can create a huge market for their products, unparalleled both in scale and potential, which creates a conducive investment environment and job opportunities for their people and will eventually reduce poverty in our region," he said.

Inamul Haque, chairman of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, said Xi's proposal suggested that China will play a bigger role in boosting the development of Central Asia.

"The construction of the economic belt will be a driving force for the economic development of the region, especially for landlocked countries," he said.

Xu Qinhua, deputy head of Central Asian studies at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, said close cooperation between China and energy-rich Central Asia will ensure energy security for both sides, and win international support for each other's diplomatic efforts.

"For China, the more important thing is that it will help forge stable and friendly frontiers in its northwest, which will provide strategic support for China's development.

"Similarly, because of its special location, huge energy reserves as well as ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, political and economic security of Central Asia is inseparable from China."

Zhang Lili, an expert on Chinese diplomacy with China Foreign Affairs University, said Xi's speech not only presented the idea of the economic belt but also comprehensively introduces his administration's Central Asia policies.