On January 23-25, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will visit China on a state visit.
The modern stage of Uzbek-Chinese cooperation began on January 2, 1992, when, after gaining independence, Uzbekistan established diplomatic relations with the PRC as a full member of the international community.
The historical roots of relations between the two states go back centuries and today are a powerful basis for the development of a fruitful, mutually beneficial partnership at the present stage. The legendary Silk Road, which connected regions and promoted mutual enrichment and cultural exchange, has acquired new significance today and continues to serve as an economic, cultural and humanitarian bridge between countries and peoples along its route.
Today, Uzbekistan and China have similar positions and approaches on current issues on the international agenda, ensuring global security and development. China fully supports the independent path of development of Uzbekistan and the large-scale reforms that are being carried out in the country under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The two countries are also strengthening close ties within the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Central Asia-China format and other multilateral structures, protecting common interests and making a positive contribution to achieving security and progress throughout the world. It should also be noted here that Uzbekistan and China stood at the origins of the creation of the SCO and have always provided mutual support in the implementation of initiatives and proposals put forward by each other.
An important role in the modern development of bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and China is played by the established, trusting and friendly dialogue between the leaders of the two countries.
Over the past seven years, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping have met repeatedly at multilateral summits, mutual state, official and working visits of the heads of the two states took, and a number of telephone conversations were held.
A powerful impetus to the development of bilateral relations was given by the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Uzbekistan in September 2022, as well as state visits to China by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in May 2017 and 2023.
Bilateral interaction at a high level is also characterized by the dynamic and sustainable nature of cooperation. Interparliamentary cooperation has intensified. In May 2017, an Inter-Parliamentary Group on Cooperation between the Oliy Majlis and the National Congress of People’s Deputies (NPC) was created. A fruitful inter-parliamentary dialogue is maintained, and a mutual exchange of visits by parliamentary delegations has been established.
As part of government exchanges in 2019, official visits of Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov to China and Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang to Uzbekistan took place, as well as an online meeting of heads of government in June 2021. In August 2022, the 6th meeting of the Uzbek-Chinese Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee was held online.
In October 2023, Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov visited China to participate in the closing ceremony of the XIX Asian Games, during which he met with Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang.
The mechanism of inter-Ministry of Foreign Affairs political consultations has been established and is operating successfully. A total of 17 rounds of meetings were held in this format. Effective dialogue between the heads of foreign policy departments is also maintained within the framework of the “Central Asia – China” format.
In November 2023, the first Strategic Dialogue between the foreign ministers of the two countries took place in Beijing. On the sidelines of this event, a business forum was held in Guangzhou and a round table with the participation of business representatives from the two countries in Shanghai.
Today China is Uzbekistan’s largest economic and trading partner. In January-November 2023, the volume of trade turnover between our countries amounted to $12.2 billion, exceeding the same figure in the previous year by 34%.
Since 2011, within the framework of the Uzbek-Chinese Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee, the parties have been discussing development issues and prospects for further expansion of practical interaction.
China is also one of the largest investors in Uzbekistan. The total volume of disbursed Chinese investments for 2017-2022 is almost 11 billion dollars. Direct Chinese investments operate today in many sectors of the economy of our country, including the chemical industry, oil and gas sector, production of building materials, pharmaceuticals, agricultural sector, light industry and others. The number of Chinese companies participating in the implementation of large investment and infrastructure projects in the republic is growing steadily. Today, there are 2 thousand 125 enterprises operating in Uzbekistan with the participation of Chinese investments. In 2023, 601 new enterprises were created.
An important area of bilateral cooperation is also interaction in the field of poverty reduction. In this area, Uzbekistan closely cooperates with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. At the end of December, the first meeting of the subcommittee on poverty reduction within the framework of the Uzbek-Chinese Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee was held.
Visiting the Syrdarya region in April last year, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that the Syrdarya should become a “region of advanced innovations” in industry, business, agriculture, education and medicine. In this process, it is proposed to use the vast experience of China, which has achieved unprecedented progress in industry, agriculture, education and medicine.
In this regard, in June 2023, the Syrdarya-China business forum was held in the city of Gulistan with the participation of 250 representatives of leading Chinese companies, including Huawei, TVBIE, CCSeven and others. As a result of the forum, about 30 agreements were concluded for a total amount of $322 million.
One of the key areas of Chinese-Uzbek cooperation is also transport and communications. It fully meets the interests of Uzbekistan in transforming itself from a “landlocked country” into a “land-connected country”, as well as the concept of the Chinese “One Belt, One Road” initiative aimed at reviving the economic belt of the Great Silk Road.
Thus, as part of this initiative, the Angren-Pap railway line with the longest tunnel in the country and Central Asia as a whole was built in Uzbekistan with the participation of Chinese partners. The transport corridor “China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan” is becoming an international artery crossing the mountains. All four routes of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline pass through Uzbekistan, setting a benchmark for friendly cooperation between neighboring countries.
The role of the Great Silk Road, which connected our regions for centuries, symbolized peace, cooperation and openness between East and West, and also served mutual trade, cultural and scientific exchange. Since then, Uzbekistan and China have continued to share friendship and the richness of their cultures.
Today, young people in Uzbekistan are showing interest in learning the Chinese language, and the Chinese are also learning the Uzbek language. This promotes knowledge exchange and cultural connections. For example, the Confucius Institutes, created at the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies and the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages, have become key centers for the study of Chinese culture and language.
At the same time, in China there is interest in learning the Uzbek language, and it is successfully taught in educational institutions such as the Central University of Nationalities and the Beijing Foreign Studies University, and the Shanghai University of International Studies, one of the prestigious educational institutions in China, has a specialized department of Uzbek language. This interest is reflected in the growing number of Chinese students studying at universities in Uzbekistan, promoting knowledge exchange and cultural ties between the two countries.
The Uzbekistan-China Friendship Society, created in 1998, also contributes to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the Uzbek and Chinese peoples.
On May 18, 2022, in Xi’an, as part of the first “Central Asia – China” summit, the official launch of the Year of Culture and Art of the Peoples of Central Asia and China took place. As part of this year, a number of cultural events, concerts and festivals, exhibitions, touring exchanges and presentations of Uzbek culture took place.
So, in May 2023 in Beijing Opera House in Beijing, a concert of the orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater named after A. Navoi took place.
In September 2023, the Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan Ozodbek Nazarbekov took part in the 6th International Silk Road EXPO, which was held in the city of Dunhuang in the Chinese province of Gansu.
And in September 2023, the opening of the exhibition “Archaeological Cooperation – “One Belt, One Road”” took place at the Gugun Imperial Palace Museum in Beijing, at which Uzbekistan was represented by 18 exhibits from the “Golden Fund” of the country’s historical heritage.
In turn, in October 2023, as part of the visit to Uzbekistan of the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the PRC, “Chinese Culture Days” were held.
Over 380 athletes from Uzbekistan successfully participated in 39 sports at the XIX Asian Games, which were held in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8, 2023. In the medal standings, Uzbekistan took 5th place, winning 22 gold, 18 silver and 31 bronze medals.
Expanding economic ties also contributes to growing interest in Uzbekistan, its history and traditions in China. So, last year more than 40 thousand Chinese tourists visited our country.
In a word, today Uzbekistan and China have reached a qualitatively new level of partnership and cooperation. According to leading Chinese English-language newspaper Global Times, 2023 has become a landmark year in the history of the development of Chinese-Uzbek relations. In this regard, the upcoming state visit of the head of our state to China will strengthen the successes and achievements of bilateral cooperation and open up further prospects for fruitful cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries. /// nCa, 20 January 2024 [Originally published by News Agency Dunyo]