Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The state visit of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev began on 18 May with bilateral talks with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.

The meeting with the participation of delegations of the two countries was held at the Shaanxi residence in the city of Xi’an.

At the beginning, President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping warmly welcomed the head of our state, cordially congratulated him on the successful holding of the constitutional referendum and wished him great success in the upcoming presidential elections in Uzbekistan.

In turn, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed gratitude for the invitation to pay a state visit to China and for the warm and cordial welcome. I sincerely congratulated the head of the People’s Republic of China on the successful holding of the most important political events and re-election to the country’s highest state posts.

Topical issues on the broad agenda of the Uzbek-Chinese relations of comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era were discussed in detail.

The consistent implementation of the agreements reached, the growing dynamics of bilateral contacts, the strengthening of political dialogue and mutual support on key issues were noted with particular satisfaction.

Special attention was paid to the fruitful exchange of experience and practical measures of cooperation in the field of poverty alleviation, including through the implementation of socially significant projects in the field of agriculture, land use, small and medium-sized businesses, modernization of infrastructure, improving the quality of medical services and vocational education.

The prospects for expanding mutually beneficial practical cooperation in the trade and economic sphere were discussed in detail. We are talking about the promotion of joint projects, primarily in the field of creating modern industrial facilities, investment and high-tech enterprises.

As a result of the business forum held the day before, agreements were signed and agreements were reached on the implementation of promising projects worth US$25 billion.

Particular attention was paid to the implementation of a full-scale program of investment and technological cooperation for the development of alternative energy, which provides for the construction of solar, wind and hydroelectric power plants, the production of photovoltaic panels, electrical equipment, transformers, batteries, as well as digitalization of management and training of specialists.

The possibilities of deepening cooperation in the production of new generation cars were discussed - the launch of modern plants for the production of electric vehicles and cars with a hybrid engine.

The importance of working out projects in related industries was emphasized. In particular, the creation of a high-tech cluster for the production of electrical products based on the deep processing of copper, lithium and rare earth metals.

In addition, mutual interest was noted in deepening and expanding cooperation in the production of plastics, chemical products, metal products, food products, building materials, finished textiles, the creation of a biotechnology cluster and many others.

A high assessment was given to the current level of fruitful financial and technical cooperation with leading Chinese banks and the Silk Road Fund, as well as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Joint activities have been identified to unlock the potential for cooperation between the regions of the two countries, including the transformation of the Syrdarya region into a “territory of advanced innovations”.

Taking into account the resumption of active contacts and air traffic, the issue of holding the first Forum of Cities and Regions in Uzbekistan will be worked out.

The targets for a balanced increase in mutual trade turnover, which has doubled in recent years, have been outlined.

The importance of the early start of practical work on the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway was emphasized.

In the humanitarian sphere, a unanimous opinion was expressed on the need to intensify cooperation in the field of education and tourism, hold mutual days of culture, art and cinema, as well as expand programs in the field of traditional medicine, treatment of eye and other diseases, production of vaccines and pharmaceuticals.

There was also an exchange of views on topical issues of the regional agenda and international politics.

The meeting was held in a traditionally confidential, open and friendly atmosphere. The leader of Uzbekistan invited the head of China to pay a visit to our country. The invitation was gratefully accepted.