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

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President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks with President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping on October 17.

Topical issues of further strengthening of 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. 

The Head of Uzbekistan cordially congratulated the President of the People's Republic of China on the Day of China's Formation 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 universal progress and prosperity.

It is deeply symbolic that the initiative of the Chinese President "Green Silk Road" was first announced in 2016 in Uzbekistan," the leader of our country said.

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

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

The consistent implementation of the agreements reached during the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan to China in May 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 investments has increased fivefold, and the number of companies has tripled. Since the beginning of this year, the volume of mutual trade has increased by 36 percent. It is expected that this figure will exceed the $10 billion mark by the end of the year.

There was mutual agreement that there is every reason to bring the trade turnover to $20 billion in the next five years.

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

Interest was expressed in expanding the portfolio of high-tech projects by jointly organizing the production of innovative products with high added value. 

The high assessment was given to the achieved level of productive partnership with leading Chinese banks and the Silk Road Fund. 

The intensification of interregional contacts was noted. Since the beginning of the year, Uzbekistan has been visited by delegations from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces.

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 implementation of all agreements, it was proposed to hold a regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee.

The leaders of the two countries highly appreciated the rich cooperation in the field of culture, education and tourism. Appreciation was expressed for the Chinese side's support of the initiative to declare 2023 the "Year of Culture and Arts of the Peoples of Central Asia and China".

A presentation of Uzbekistan was recently held at the National Silk Museum in Hangzhou. An exposition of our historical heritage was organized at the exhibition of Archaeological cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative at the Gugong Palace Museum in Beijing.

The Days of Chinese Culture in Uzbekistan are scheduled to be held at the end of October. The Days of Culture of Uzbekistan in China will be held next spring.

The growing interest in learning Chinese in Uzbekistan, especially among young people, was noted with satisfaction. The fruitful activity of the Confucius Institute in Tashkent and Samarkand makes a great contribution to this. There are plans to expand the teaching of the Chinese language and the exchange of young scientists.

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

The sides exchanged views on topical issues of the regional agenda and international politics. 

The unwavering position on supporting the "one China" policy and the fight against the "three forces of evil" was confirmed.

Following the meeting, an agreement was reached on the adoption of a roadmap for the implementation of the initiatives put forward.

At the end of the talks, the leader of our country invited the President of the People's Republic of China to visit Uzbekistan. 

The meeting was held in a traditionally trusting, open and friendly atmosphere.