The leaders of Uzbekistan and China discussed issues of further strengthening the relations of comprehensive strategic partnership

On October 17, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held negotiations with the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, the press service of the head of our state reports.

Current issues of further strengthening Uzbek-Chinese friendship relations and comprehensive strategic partnership were discussed.

At the beginning of the meeting, the President of our country expressed sincere gratitude to the leader of China for the invitation and the warm welcome provided.

The head of Uzbekistan cordially congratulated the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China on the Day of China and the tenth anniversary of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative.

– In a short historical period, the Belt and Road Initiative has become a sought-after, inclusive and open platform for interaction in order to achieve shared progress and prosperity.

It is deeply symbolic that the initiative of the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China “Green Silk Road” was first announced in 2016 in Uzbekistan, said the leader of our country.

It was especially emphasized that Uzbekistan is committed to further deepening its multifaceted relations with China.

A five-year Program for the development of comprehensive strategic partnerships in a new era is being implemented.

The consistent implementation of agreements reached during the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan to China in May of this year, the strengthening of political dialogue and mutual support on key issues were noted with particular satisfaction.

Trade, economic and investment cooperation is developing dynamically.

In recent years, the volume of Chinese investment has increased fivefold, and the number of companies has tripled. Since the beginning of this year, mutual trade volumes have increased by 36 percent. This figure is expected to exceed $10 billion by the end of the year.

Mutual agreement was expressed that there is every reason to increase trade turnover to $20 billion in the next five years.

With the participation of Chinese companies and financial institutions, a number of large investment projects are being implemented in the field of high technology, alternative energy, chemistry, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, electrical engineering, infrastructure modernization and other areas.

Interest was expressed in expanding the portfolio of high-tech projects through joint organization of the production of innovative products with high added value.

The achieved level of productive partnership with leading Chinese banks and the Silk Road Fund was highly appreciated.

An intensification of interregional contacts has been noted. Since the beginning of the year, delegations from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces have visited Uzbekistan.

Special attention is paid to the fruitful exchange of experience and practical interaction in the field of studying and implementing Chinese experience in the fight against poverty.

To review the progress of implementation of all agreements, it is proposed to hold the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee.

The leaders of the two countries highly appreciated the intense cooperation in the fields of culture, education and tourism. Gratitude was expressed for the Chinese side’s support for the initiative to declare 2023 the “Year of Culture and Arts of the Peoples of Central Asia and China.”

A presentation of Uzbekistan recently took place at the National Silk Museum in Hangzhou. Our historical heritage was exhibited at the Belt and Road Initiative Archaeological Cooperation Exhibition at the Gugong Palace Museum in Beijing.

At the end of October, the Days of Chinese Culture are planned to be held in Uzbekistan. Next spring, the Days of Culture of Uzbekistan will be held in China.

The growing interest in learning the Chinese language in Uzbekistan, especially among young people, was noted with satisfaction. The fruitful activities of the Confucius Institute in Tashkent and Samarkand make a great contribution to this. Plans are outlined to expand Chinese language teaching and exchange of young scholars.

The President of Uzbekistan proposed opening branches of leading Chinese universities – Tsinghua University and Peking University – in Tashkent.

An exchange of views took place on current issues of the regional agenda and international politics.

The unwavering position on supporting the “one China” policy and combating the “three forces of evil” was confirmed.

As a result of the meeting, an agreement was reached on the adoption of a “road map” for the implementation of the initiatives put forward.

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

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