Uzbek FM pledges closer ties with China

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 09, 2004

Uzbek FM pledges closer ties with China

Uzbek Foreign Minister Sodik Safaev has said his country will promote its relations with China in economic cooperation.

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Uzbek Foreign Minister Sodik Safaev has said his country will promote its relations with China in economic cooperation.

In a recent written interview with Xinhua, Safaev, who will visit China on Jan. 13-16, said the Uzbekistan-China ties were established on the basis of mutual respect, equality, friendlinessand a win-win situation for each other.

He said he was satisfied with the close and stable ties betweenUzbekistan and China.

China, a country with huge political and economic potentials, is one of Uzbekistan's reliable partners in relation to Central Asia's economic development and regional security, said Safaev.

The high-level political dialogue between Uzbekistan and China is of great significance for the development of bilateral relations, he said.

Hu Jintao visited Uzbekistan in 1995 and held his first talks with Uzbek President Islam Karimov. Hu also had talks with Karimovon the sidelines of the 2003 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Moscow.

During the talks in Moscow, the two leaders hammered out a blueprint for a political dialogue and for mutually beneficial economic cooperation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing visited the Uzbek capital,Tashkent, and took part in a SCO foreign ministers' meeting there in September, 2003.

The SCO established its two standing organs, the secretariat and the regional anti-terrorism center, in the Chinese and Uzbek capitals, Safaev said, adding that the two standing organs had a symbolic significance.

He said the mutual cooperation and coordination within the SCO framework will give fresh impetus to efforts by the two countries to develop ties.

Safaev praised China's economy and said he was surprised at thespeed of its growth in the last 10 years.

Uzbekistan is implementing structural and market economy reforms, which are aimed at realizing economic modernization and integrating the country into the world economy, he said.

Uzbekistan's reforms brought about opportunities for Uzbekistan-China cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, transport, education and culture.

On Uzbekistan's rising trade with China, he said the two countries' trade turnover grew from 130 million US dollars in 2002to 200 million dollars in 2003.

China's transnational firms are making investments in Uzbekistan's chemical and telecommunication fields, Safaev said.

The two countries should bring the trading potentials into fullplay.

Uzbekistan is willing to use China's funds and technologies in aspects of soil improvement, raw materials processing, home electronic appliances, textiles and energy, he said.

The Uzbek foreign minister said his country has created a good investment environment, citing Uzbekistan's trade liberalization and currency convertibility under the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source: Xinhua

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