TASHKENT: President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will hold meetings with Chinese leadership during his stay in Beijing. The modern phase of Uzbek-Chinese cooperation started on 2 January 1992, when after gaining independence Uzbekistan established diplomatic ties with China as a member of the international community.
The historical roots of ties between Tashkent and Beijing go back to the depths of centuries and today are a powerful foundation for the development of a mutually beneficial partnership at the present phase. The legendary Silk Road, which linked regions and promoted mutual enrichment and cultural exchange, has nowadays acquired a new meaning and continues to serve as an economic, humanitarian and cultural bridge between countries and people along its route.
The two sides are also strengthening close relations within the United Nations, the «Central Asia-China» format, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other multilateral structures, defending common interests and making a positive contribution to achieving progress and security around the world. China and Uzbekistan stood at the origins of the SCO and have always provided mutual support in the execution of initiatives and proposals put forward by each other.
Uzbekistan-China Ties
The established trusting and friendly talks between the leaders of the two nations plays a significant role in the current development of bilateral ties between China and Uzbekistan. Over the past several years, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Chinese President Xi Jinping have repeatedly met at multilateral summits, official and working visits of the two Presidents have taken place, and a number of phone conversations have been held.
President Xi Jinping visited Uzbekistan in September 2022, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited China in May 2017 and 2023. These visits have enhanced the bilateral relations between Beijing and Tashkent. High-level bilateral interaction is characterized by sustainable and dynamic cooperation. Similarly, within the framework of governmental exchanges, official trips of Uzbekistan Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov to China and Premier of China Li Keqiang to Uzbekistan were held in 2019.
In October 2023, PM Abdulla Aripov visited China to attend the closing ceremony of the XIX Asian Games, during which he met with Premier of China Li Qiang. In November 2023, the first Strategic Dialogue between the foreign ministers of the two sides was held in Beijing, China. On the margins of this event, a business forum was also held in Guangzhou and a round table with business representatives of the two nations was held in Shanghai.
Now, China is Uzbekistan’s largest trade and economic partner. In January-November 2023, the volume of trade turnover between the two countries totalled $12.2 billion, exceeding the same figure in the last year by 34 percent.
Since 2011, within the framework of the Uzbek-Chinese Intergovernmental Committee on Cooperation, the two countries have been discussing matters of development and prospects for further expansion of practical interaction.
Similarly, China is also one of Uzbekistan’s largest investors. The total volume of absorbed Beijing investments for 2017-2022 is around $11 billion. Direct Chinese investments are working in many fields of Uzbekistan’s economy, including oil and gas, chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, light industry and agrarian sector. The number of Chinese firms involved in the implementation of major investment and infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan is steadily growing. To date, around 2,125 enterprises with Chinese investment are working the Central Asian country. In 2023, 601 new enterprises were set up.
Poverty decrease is also an important segment of bilateral cooperation between the two sides. In this sector, Uzbekistan is working closely with China.
Visiting the Syrdarya region in April, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated that Syrdarya should become a “region of advanced innovations” in industry, agriculture, business, education and medicine. In this process, it was suggested to use the vast experience of Beijing, which has made unprecedented progress in agriculture, industry, education and medicine.
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One of the key sectors of China-Uzbekistan cooperation is also transport and communications. It meets Uzbekistan’s interests in transforming from a “landlocked nation” to a “land-linked nation”, as well as the concept of China’s “One Way, One Road” initiative aimed at reviving the Great Silk Road economic route.
Thus, within the framework of “One Way, One Road” initiative, the Angren-Pap railway line with the longest tunnel in Uzbekistan and Central Asia as a whole was built in Uzbekistan with the participation of Chinese partners. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan transport corridor is also becoming an international route crossing the mountains. All 4 routes of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline pass via Uzbekistan, setting a benchmark for friendly cooperation between the neighboring nations.
The role of the Great Silk Road, which has linked the regions for centuries, symbolized peace, cooperation and openness between East and West, and also served mutual trade, scientific and cultural exchange. Since then, China and Uzbekistan have continued to share friendship and their rich cultures. Confucius Institutes established at the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies and the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages have become main centers for the study of Chinese culture and language. At the same time, there is also interest in learning Uzbek in China, and it is successfully taught at organizations such as the Central University of Nationalities and the Beijing Foreign Studies University, while the Shanghai University of International Studies, one of China’s key educational institutions, has a specialized chair in Uzbek. This interest is showed in the growing number of students from China studying at several Uzbek universities, which also facilitates the exchange of knowledge and cultural relations between the two nations.
The «Uzbekistan-China» Friendship Society, set up in 1998, also contributes to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the people of the two countries. In September 2023, Uzbek Culture Minister Ozodbek Nazarbekov attended 6th International Silk Road Expo, which was held in the city of Dunhuang in China.
More than 380 athletes from Uzbekistan successfully attended 39 sports at the XIX Asian Games, which were held in Hangzhou from 23 September to 8 October 2023. Uzbekistan also ranked 5th in the medal standings, winning around 22 gold, 18 silver and 31 bronze medals.
Expansion of economic relations also contributes to the increasing interest in Uzbekistan, its history and traditions in China. Thus, last year, over 40,000 Chinese tourists visited Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan and China have reached a qualitatively new level of cooperation and partnership. According to Chinese media 2023 has become a landmark year in the history of China-Uzbekistan ties. In this regard, the state visit of Uzbekistan’s President to China will strengthen bilateral interaction and also open up further prospects of cooperation for the benefit of the people of the two nations.
