Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov at Manas International Airport in Bishkek on Wednesday. Xi arrived in Bishkek Wednesday for a state visit to Kyrgyzstan and the 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese living Bishkek welcome President Xi Jinping’s visit to Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday. Photo: Liu Xin/GT

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Bishkek on Wednesday for a state visit to Kyrgyzstan and the 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The photo shows the national flags of China and Kyrgyzstan outside Manas International Airport. Photo: People’s Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping began his state visit in Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday with local people welcoming his arrival and wishing for stronger China-Kyrgyzstan ties.

Xi is scheduled to hold talks with Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov on Thursday and will attend the 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Friday.

Signs of the SCO meeting were visible around the airport. Flags of the member states were placed along the road from the airport to Bishkek.

People from many fields reached by the Global Times on Wednesday said they welcome Xi's visit and wish the best for the upcoming SCO meeting.

Pan Zewen, who studied at Bishkek Humanities University for three years, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Xi's visit and the SCO meeting are big events for Kyrgyzstan and Bishkek has geared up for the events, as seen from the SCO posters outside the city's landmark buildings.

China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui told a press conference in Beijing on Monday that Xi's visit to Kyrgyzstan would promote bilateral ties to a new level and help bring more achievements to SCO member states.

"People in Kyrgyzstan can see China's contributions to their country's construction. Those who spread statements to mar China-Kyrgyzstan ties do not represent the mainstream in the country," Pan said.

Some people have been spreading false information about Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Kyrgyzstan since January. 

Bishkek resident Toktonbekov Baet, 20, told the Global Times that many buildings and roads in the capital city were built by Chinese companies.

Baet learned Chinese for 10 months at a vocational school in Nanning, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. He said that during his stay in China, the local residents were very friendly to him and offered him a lot of help.

"There are many Chinese who study and work in Kyrgyzstan. They get along with local residents very well," Baet said.

Bishkek also saw more people-to-people exchanges along with Xi's visit to Kyrgyzstan. 

The China National Opera House staged a performance about a Kyrgyzstan hero on Wednesday to local residents.  A 87-year-old retired public servant from Bishkek said that he was touched to see a high-quality performance on a Kyrgyz hero staged by its good neighbors.