Uzbekistan president "China will always be a reliable partner"

China will strengthen cooperation with Uzbekistan in Central Asia.

According to China's official Xinhua News Agency on July 28th (local time), Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyaev attended a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries held in the capital Tashkent on the same day.

At the meeting, President Mirziyaev expressed gratitude for China's assistance to Uzbekistan in promoting reform, opening up, poverty reduction, fighting infectious diseases, and maintaining social stability.

"Uzbekistan attaches great importance to high-level strategic communication and cooperation with China, and always regards China as a reliable partner," he said.

"The 2 countries have raised bilateral relations to a new level based on the principle of mutual trust and support," he said.

In response, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, "We are ready to strengthen mutual cooperation, taking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries as a new departure point."

"China firmly supports the goal of building a new Uzbekistan and opposes any interference in Uzbekistan's internal affairs," he said.

On the same day, China and Uzbekistan agreed to first clarify cooperation tasks in order to jointly implement a five-year plan for economic, trade and investment cooperation.

It also plans to accelerate feasibility studies for the construction of railways connecting China and Uzbekistan.

In addition, they pledged to set up a poverty alleviation subcommittee under the intergovernmental cooperation committee, and to work together to strengthen medical and health cooperation and expand joint production of vaccines.