Ahead of visit, Uzbek leader says he wants close, comprehensive ties with China

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has said that Uzbekistan’s relations with China are at the highest level ever and urged a new “long-term” cooperation agenda between the two countries.

In an article published by the official Chinese People’s Daily newspaper ahead of Mirziyoyev’s official visit to China on 23-25 January, he said that Uzbek-Chinese relations are “undergoing the best period in history, showing a steadily high dynamic” towards further expansion.

Mirziyoyev wrote that both countries were striving towards “ensuring regional and international security” and advocating “multilateral cooperation in overcoming global challenges”.

“We firmly support one another on issues concerning our countries’ fundamental interests, such as sovereignty, territorial integrity, maintaining principles of good-neighbourliness, and respecting each other’s choices regarding our development path and one another’s cultural and civilisational identities,” the article said.

Mirziyoyev expressed Uzbekistan’s keen interest in participation in China’s Belt and Road project, describing it as “going beyond the civilisational, economic and cultural divides”, and “a completely new formula of strengthening inter-state dialogue and cooperation, that allows humankind to join forces for the sake of global prosperity”.

It said Belt and Road allowed Uzbekistan “to become an important link in the chain of global interconnectedness” and to overcome its transportations problems because of its landlocked geographic position.

Mirziyoyev said further it was important to work out a new “long-term” cooperation agenda between the two countries.

The agenda, he suggested, should be focused on taking bilateral relations “to a new higher level”, including “a regular exchange of opinions and close interaction on the entire spectrum of Uzbek-Chinese cooperation”.

He added that both countries wanted “to ensure stability and security in Central Asia in the entire SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organisation] territory” and “remove the negative consequences of the current situation in Afghanistan”.

Mirziyoyev also praised China’s transformation into “a powerful country” and achievement of “grandiose scientific and technological progress” over the past decade.

“Today, China is a leading force in world politics and a responsible participant in key international processes,” the article said.

It also said that Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s “global initiatives in the areas of development, security and inter-civilisation dialogue contribute a lot in solving world problems and transitioning to a more sustainable and inclusive future”.

“China does a lot to support economic growth in developing countries through expanding trade and investment cooperation and implementing infrastructure projects that promote interconnectedness,” the article said.

It said that as “a friendly neighbour and an all-around strategic partner”, Uzbekistan was “sincerely happy for China’s ‘successes’”.

“Development of multifaceted relations with China has been and remains one of Uzbekistan’s main foreign policy priorities,” it said.

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