China, Central Asian countries to strengthen parliamentary cooperation

Wang Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, speaks at an online seminar held by China's NPC and parliaments of five Central Asian countries, in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's National People's Congress (NPC) and parliaments of five Central Asian countries vowed to strengthen cooperation and jointly oppose any move that undermines global solidarity against the pandemic, as they held an online seminar on Monday.

The seminar marks the first collective exchange between China's NPC and the parliaments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Wang Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said that China has established strategic partnerships with all five Central Asian countries. Facts have proven that China and the five countries are good neighbors, friends, and partners with sincerity and mutual trust.

"We respect each other's independence, sovereignty, and development path, firmly support each other on core interests and concerns, and work jointly to combat the 'three forces' and transnational organized crime. We are also jointly building a pilot zone for the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative," he said.

China's NPC is willing to work with the parliaments of the five Central Asian countries and maintain the forward momentum of exchanges between legislative bodies to build a community with a shared future between China and Central Asia, Wang said.