On July 15, 2021 local time, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Tashkent.
Mirziyoyev conveyed through Wang Yi his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping and extended his warm congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Noting the huge achievements that China has made under the leadership of the CPC and that have attracted worldwide attention, the sweeping victory in poverty alleviation, the completion of fully building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and the creation of a miracle in human development, he said, all these are attributable to the people-first lofty morality of President Xi Jinping and the support of the Chinese people for the development path. Uzbekistan sincerely praises the development achievements of China, and is willing to know and learn from China’s development experience, especially that on reducing poverty. I often read books on China’s poverty reduction experience, and it is my wish of copying China’s miracle in Uzbekistan. Right now, Uzbekistan-China relations have still made giant progress despite the pandemic outbreak, with rapid growth in bilateral trade and investment. Uzbekistan is grateful to China for its urgently-needed support for the fight against COVID-19. Taking the opportunity of celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Uzbek side is ready to develop a new five-year cooperation plan with China, so as to inject new momentum into bilateral cooperation. The issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong are purely internal affairs of China. Uzbekistan always adheres to the one-China principle and will, as always, firmly support China in safeguarding national sovereignty and security and be a reliable partner of China. The origin tracing of the coronavirus is a matter of science that should be researched by scientists, and the Uzbek side opposes politicizing the origin tracing. Uzbekistan supports the hosting of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and is ready to promote the greater development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) with China.
Wang Yi passed on the cordial regards of President Xi Jinping to Mirziyoyev. Wang Yi said, the CPC has just celebrated its centennial, Uzbekistan is soon celebrating the 30th anniversary of its independence, and we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Uzbekistan next year, marking a new historical starting point for the development of bilateral relations. Both sides should, as always, firmly support the development path chosen by the other side, the principled stance on issues involving the other side’s core interests, and the other side’s efforts to develop the economy and improve people’s livelihood. China stands ready to work with the Uzbek side to prepare for the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, to jointly plan the development of bilateral relations in the next 30 years, and to jointly create broader prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation between both countries for the benefit of the two countries and their people.
Wang Yi pointed out, some countries which do not want to see China’s rapid development spread lies and rumors everywhere, trying to interfere in China’s internal affairs and hold down China’s development on the pretext of human rights, religion and other issues. He believes that Uzbekistan can stand on the right side and maintain a high level of mutual trust between China and Uzbekistan. China will continue to support the Uzbek side in combating COVID-19, and provide the vaccines needed by the Uzbek side, and is willing to cooperate with Uzbekistan in the co-production of vaccines. China is also willing to strengthen cooperation with Uzbekistan on major projects, and raise the quality and volume of cooperation between the two countries to a new level. China attaches great importance to the connectivity with Uzbekistan, and is willing to speed up joint contributions to the Belt and Road Initiative with Uzbekistan to help Uzbekistan turn into a “land-linked country” from a “land-locked country” and achieve more sustainable development.
Wang Yi said, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the SCO, while the organization will embrace a new beginning next year. China supports Uzbekistan in organizing the SCO Samarkand Summit next year, and is ready to contribute to the further development of the SCO with Uzbekistan.
The two sides also had an in-depth exchange of views on the Afghan issue, and agreed that the hasty withdrawal of foreign troops has led to the escalation of tensions in Afghanistan and that the most urgent task is to prevent a civil war. Both sides support the promotion of the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan following the “Afghan-owned and Afghan-led” principle, and expect to see an open, inclusive political structure in Afghanistan that allows it to continuously fight all forms of terrorism and get along well with all neighboring countries.
On the same day, Wang Yi also exchanged views with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov on bilateral relations.
Source : fmprc
