UZBEKISTAN

President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China is willing to take the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity for China and Uzbekistan to learn from and support each other's national modernization drive.

Xi made the remark when meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Noting that China and Uzbekistan share similar goals and ideas for development, Xi said the two countries will inject more certainty and positive energy into regional peace and prosperity by jointly building a China-Uzbekistan community with a shared future.

China supports Uzbekistan in maintaining sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and firmly opposes any force's interference in Uzbekistan's internal affairs under any pretext, he said.

Xi called on the two sides to put into place their medium-to-long-term cooperation plans in the economic, trade, and investment fields, promote cooperation in key areas, and create conditions for the early construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project.

China is willing to expand its imports of high-quality products from Uzbekistan and welcomes more young people from Uzbekistan to study in China, he said, adding that China is ready to provide more scholarships to the Uzbek side.

Xi also urged the two sides to set up cultural centers in each other's country at an early date, speed up the Luban Workshop project and promote experience exchanges and cooperation in poverty reduction.

China is willing to work with Uzbekistan to earnestly implement the outcomes of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an in order to contribute to the development and revitalization of the six countries, he added.

Mirziyoyev said his country regards China as a reliable partner and the Uzbekistan-China relationship has served as a model of good-neighborliness and mutual benefit for neighboring countries.

Uzbekistan hopes to learn from China's poverty reduction experience and deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields such as trade and investment, connectivity, renewable energy, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

MO JINGXI