China, Uzbekistan vow stronger bilateral ties

SHANGHAI, May 20 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, pledged here on Tuesday to push forward bilateral relations.

Karimov is in Shanghai to attend the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Bilateral cooperation between China and Uzbekistan has enjoyed fast development in various fields since the two countries forged a strategic partnership and signed a treaty on friendly cooperation, Xi said when meeting with Karimov.

"I am ready to continue to keep close contact with you, exchanging views on issues of common concern in a timely manner, and push for more achievements in China-Uzbekistan relations," Xi told his guest.

Hailing Uzbekistan as an important country in Central Asia and an important destination on the Silk Road, Xi said China and Uzbekistan are complementary and have much in common in their development strategies.

He called on China and Uzbekistan to formulate a five-year development plan for their future relations, seize the opportunity of the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt to expand cooperation in trade, the economy, energy and infrastructure, and push ahead with the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline project.

Xi also urged the two countries to carefully restore the Uzbek historic city of Samarqand and the Ulugh Beg Observatory, projects in which they are collaborating.

China stands ready to exchange experience in governance with Uzbekistan, sticking to the development path chosen by its own people, keeping the momentum of socioeconomic development and maintaining social stability, Xi said.

The Chinese president also called on the two countries to better communicate on regional and international affairs, and jointly push Asian countries to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation and safeguard regional peace, stability and development through such platforms as the CICA.

Karimov noted that Uzbekistan-China relations have enjoyed all-round development since Xi visited the Central Asian country last September.

Applauding Xi's efforts to promote Uzbekistan-China cooperation, Karimov said the president is a true friend of Uzbekistan.

Karimov said his country admires China's far-sighted strategies and adherence to a path chosen by its own people, supports the Chinese people to strive for the Chinese dream, and will unswervingly maintain friendly policies toward China and be the country's staunch partner.

Uzbekistan is willing to actively participate in constructing the Silk Road Economic Belt, promote economic and trade exchanges and interconnectivity and knit Uzbekistan's development more closely with China's prosperity, he added.