The Chinese leader voiced his expectation to build a community of common interests and common destiny between China and Uzbekistan, Xinhua reported.

"China attaches great importance to its ties with Uzbekistan and firmly adheres to a friendly policy toward the country," Xi said when meeting here with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov on the sidelines of the 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

Noting that the development of bilateral ties have made leaps and bounds in recent years, Xi said the two countries have carried out comprehensive cooperation on security, energy, finance, transport, agriculture and telecommunications, along with a series of joint large-scale projects, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.

"I hope the two sides will continue working together closely to make China and Uzbekistan a community of common interests and common destiny featuring equality, reciprocity and win-win cooperation with a common stake in security," said the Chinese president.

There is immense potential for economic cooperation between China and Uzbekistan, Xi said, calling on the two sides to interlink their development strategies, chart a roadmap for cooperation based on the existing deal on building the Silk Road Economic Belt, and identify and carry out some early-harvest projects.

China, he said, will work together with the Uzbek side on the construction of the China-Central Asia-West Asia economic corridor under the principles of wide consultations, joint contribution and shared benefits to advance cooperation in energy, agriculture, industrial capacity and other sectors, Xi added.

China and Uzbekistan have maintained sound relations within the SCO framework and Uzbekistan will take over the rotating SCO presidency after the Ufa summit, Xi noted.

China will fully support Uzbekistan on the presidency and work with the country to lead the SCO toward the goal of stronger solidarity, more practical cooperation and more effective actions, he added.

The SCO, founded in 2001, currently has six member states -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

For his part, Karimov said China is an important cornerstone for safeguarding regional peace and development. He thanked the Chinese side for its enduring support and assistance to Uzbekistan.

The two countries have maintained frequent high-level interactions over recent years, with sound coordination in all sectors, Karimov said, adding that Uzbekistan supports China’s Belt and Road initiatives, regarding it as a perfect blueprint connecting history, reality and future.

Uzbekistan is willing to actively participate in the economic and development cooperation and people-to-people exchanges within the framework, said Karimov.

Uzbekistan, he added, firmly supports the push to boost the SCO development and the practical cooperation among its member states in line with the "Shanghai Spirit," which features mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity and pursuit of common development.