The leaders of Uzbekistan and China discussed issues of further strengthening relations of all-weather strategic partnership

As part of the program of a working visit to the city of Astana, on July 3, negotiations were held between the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, the press service of the head of our state reports.

At the beginning of the meeting, the head of our state expressed sincere gratitude to the Chairman of China for his strong support for irreversible reforms in Uzbekistan and special attention to strengthening the Uzbek-Chinese friendly relations and all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.

The leaders stated that in recent years a powerful breakthrough has been made in all areas of bilateral cooperation.

The consistent implementation of the agreements reached during the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan to China in January of this year was noted with particular satisfaction.

Contacts at the level of governments, parliaments, foreign policy and industry departments have significantly intensified.

By the end of the year, the second meeting of the Strategic Dialogue of Foreign Ministers is planned to be held in the city of Tashkent. A high-ranking Chinese parliamentary delegation is expected to visit Uzbekistan in the near future.

Trade, economic and investment cooperation is developing dynamically.

Last year trade turnover reached $14 billion. Opportunities were noted to increase this figure in the near future to $20 billion.

The current portfolio of investment projects exceeds $50 billion. Since the beginning of the year, more than $3 billion of Chinese investments have been disbursed in our country, and over 500 new joint ventures have been created.

An agreement was reached to accelerate the adoption of strategic cooperation programs in the field of infrastructure, industrial cooperation, agriculture and green energy.

The recent launch of the Uzbek-Chinese technology park and the first in our region production of electric vehicles “BYD” in the Jizzakh region were noted with satisfaction.

Partnerships with leading Chinese financial institutions are expanding. Thus, an investment platform has been created with the ‘‘Silk Road’’ Fund, and with the assistance of the Exim Bank of China, the construction of the Olympic village in our capital is being completed. A regional branch of this bank is expected to open in the city of Tashkent.

The intensification of interregional exchanges was highly assessed. Since the beginning of the year, the heads of all regions of our country have repeatedly visited China; delegations from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the provinces of Anhui, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Shaanxi and Shanghai have visited Uzbekistan. Trading houses were opened in Beijing, Urumqi and a number of other cities.

Plans have been outlined to hold the second Forum of Regions next year.

The President of our country especially noted the support of the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China in matters of practical cooperation in the field of poverty alleviation. It was proposed to adopt a long-term program for the exchange of experience in this important area.

The importance of the early start of practical work on the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which is of strategic importance for strengthening transport connectivity and the development of the region within the framework of the One Belt, One Road initiative, was emphasized.

An exchange of views on current issues of the regional and international agenda also took place. The Uzbek side’s unchanged position on supporting the “one China” policy and combating the “three forces of evil” was confirmed.

Close interaction will continue within the framework of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Central Asia-China format and other international and regional structures.

The head of our state wished the leader of the People’s Republic of China great success during his presidency in the SCO.

The need to build up partnerships in the fields of tourism, science, education, personnel training and the study of the Chinese language was pointed out.

The Forum of Confucius Institutes in Central Asia will be held in Tashkent these days. Plans have been outlined to open branches of Chinese universities in our country and to widely introduce the Chinese system of vocational education – “Lu Ban Workshop”. It is proposed to hold a second Educational Forum next year.

At the end of the negotiations, the President of Uzbekistan invited the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China to visit our country.

The meeting took place in a traditionally confidential, open and friendly atmosphere.