Renowned sinologist Adil Kaukenov analyzed a group photo of politicians from the Belt and Road Initiative’s anniversary summit.

Here’s what Kaukenov writes on his Telegram channel:

«If anyone doesn’t know, every seat at such events is strictly regulated. Diplomatic staff helps heads of states occupy specifically allocated seats because

it signals the foreign policy importance of a given country to the host party

Meanwhile, even the president of the prospective giant Indonesia, with a population of 273 million (12 times larger than Kazakhstan) and a key player in Southeast Asia, is seated one person away from the head of China.

The leaders of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are on the same level. Each is exactly three people away from Xi Jinping.

Interestingly, in the front row of Europeans, only President Serbia — Vucic. Even Hungary’s President Orban is in the second row.

This is because Serbia, which is under Western pressure due to Kosovo, is a more reliable and China-dependent partner in Europe for Beijing. In contrast, Hungary could change its course at any moment.

There is no need to mention Russia’s obvious strategic importance to China; Russian colleagues and public discussions have already addressed this matter extensively.»