Mirziyoyev invites Xi Jinping to Uzbekistan

Today, on July 3, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, held talks as part of a practical visit to the city of Astana. This was reported by the President's press service.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mirziyoyev expressed his gratitude to the President of China for his firm support for reforms in Uzbekistan and for paying special attention to strengthening friendship and strategic partnership between the countries under all circumstances.

The leaders noted that great progress has been made in all areas of bilateral cooperation in recent years.

"It was noted with particular satisfaction that the agreements reached during the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan to China in January of this year are being consistently implemented. Relations at the level of governments, parliaments, foreign policy, and branch offices have become significantly more active," the report said.

It is noted that the second meeting of the strategic dialogue of foreign ministers is planned to be held in Tashkent by the end of the year. A high-level delegation of the Chinese Parliament is expected to visit Uzbekistan in the near future. Trade, economic, and investment cooperation is developing rapidly.

It is reported that last year the volume of trade reached 14 billion dollars. In the near future, it is possible to increase this figure to 20 billion dollars. The current portfolio of investment projects exceeds 50 billion dollars. Since the beginning of this year, more than 3 billion dollars of Chinese investment has been absorbed in Uzbekistan, and more than 500 new joint ventures have been established.

"It was agreed to speed up the adoption of strategic cooperation programs in the fields of infrastructure, industrial cooperation, agriculture, and 'green' energy. It is noted with pleasure that the Uzbekistan-China technology park has recently been launched in the Jizzakh region and the production of BYD electric cars has started for the first time in our region," the report said.

The activation of interregional exchanges was highly appreciated. Since the beginning of the year, leaders of all regions of Uzbekistan have visited China several times, and delegations from the Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region, Anhui, Xiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Shaanxi, and Shanghai provinces have visited Uzbekistan. Trading houses were opened in Beijing, Urumqi, and a number of other cities. It was decided to hold the second Forum of Regions next year.

President Mirziyoyev emphasized that the President of the People's Republic of China supports practical cooperation in the fight against poverty. In this important direction, a long-term program for the exchange of experience was offered.

Within the framework of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, it is important to start practical work on the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which is of strategic importance in the development of the region, and to strengthen transport links as soon as possible.

Opinions were also exchanged on topical issues of regional and international importance. It was confirmed that the Uzbek side's position to support the "one China" policy and fight against the "three evil forces" will not change.

It is noted that close cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the "Central Asia - China" format, and other international and regional structures will be continued.

The head of Uzbekistan wished the leader of the PRC great success during his presidency of the SCO. The need to expand cooperation in the fields of tourism, science, education, personnel training, and learning the Chinese language was emphasized.

The Forum of Confucius Institutes in Central Asia will soon be held in Tashkent. Plans to open branches of higher educational institutions of the PRC in the country and to widely introduce the Chinese professional education system— "Lu Ban workshop"—were defined. It was proposed to hold the Second Education Forum next year.

At the end of the negotiations, President Mirziyoyev invited the President of the PRC to visit Uzbekistan.