Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for his three-day China visit, expected to be a reunion of good old friends that will mark the opening chapter of China-Central Asia exchanges to come in 2024. 

As China-Uzbekistan bilateral relations have developed quickly in the past years, analysts expect Mirziyoyev's visit will lead to extensive cooperation in various fields, bring the bilateral relationship to a new level and inject vitality into China-Central Asia cooperation.       

Ahead of his visit, Mirziyoyev published a signed article in the Global Times on Monday with the title "Uzbekistan and China: millennia-long friendship and cooperation," where he wrote "The development of multifaceted relations with China has been, and remains, one of the main priorities of Uzbekistan's foreign policy." 

Recounting the historical interactions between the two civilizations, Mirziyoyev listed the latest cooperation in chemistry, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, electrical engineering and infrastructure modernization. 

China became Uzbekistan's largest trading partner in 2023, with bilateral trade in the year reaching $14 billion, up by more than 40 percent from 2022, according to official data.

Despite the instability and turbulence in world politics, we are looking into the future with confidence and building joint creative plans. That is what we will be talking about in our upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping, Mirziyoyev wrote. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday that China and Uzbekistan will take this opportunity to elevate bilateral relations and add new dimensions to the China-Uzbekistan community with a shared future. During this visit, the two countries will hold events on culture, education and sub-national cooperation, deepen cooperation across the board and bring more benefits to the two countries and the two peoples.

Zhu Yongbiao, executive director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times that China and Uzbekistan share high-level mutual trust, citing Uzbekistan's role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) mechanism, its support for China-proposed initiatives, and joint stance on countering terrorism. 

Zhao Huirong, an Eastern European studies expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday that Uzbekistan and China share ideals and views on topics including regional affairs and that their strategic visions are well connected. 

Mirziyoyev's political agenda focuses on matters related to people's livelihood and the country hopes to cooperate with or learn experience from China on poverty reduction, agricultural modernization, new energy and the digital economy, Zhao said. 

Therefore, under the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Uzbekistan seeks to transfer its landlocked position into the advantage of a transportation hub in Central Asia, Zhao noted.

With improved connectivity, Uzbekistan will be better integrated into regional economic growth and become a "bridge" connecting China with Europe, Middle East and South Asia, Zhao added.  

Mirziyoyev wrote in the article that the BRI is not just an infrastructure project. Through the joint implementation of the initiative, the region is becoming an important link in global connectivity, overcoming transport remoteness.

Analysts expressed the hope that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan transport corridor, a flagship project of regional cooperation, will accelerate its pace in 2024. The two countries are also expected to enhance cooperation on tourism, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. 

Uzbekistan Culture Days are being held alongside the presidential visit. A performance of the Uzbek national dance Lazgi was presented on Monday in Beijing with more concerts and exhibitions to come, according to media reports. 

Similar Chinese Culture Days events were held in October 2023 when a Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism delegation visited Uzbekistan. The two sides reached agreements on tourism cooperation, establishing cultural centers, mutual visits by art groups and restoration of cultural relics, among other fields.

Visitors view handicraft products at the booth of Uzbekistan during the Seventh Silk Road International Exposition in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Nov. 16, 2023. The event kicked off in Xi'an on Thursday, with over twenty important meetings and forums in the schedule, and a total of six exhibition areas to fully showcase the achievements accomplished under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).(Photo: Xinhua)

Bilateral cooperation is also taking the region-to-region format. On Monday, a China-Uzbekistan region-region cooperation forum was held in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The event, aiming to connect firms from the two countries, attracted representatives from more than 1,200 corporate representatives to seek business opportunities, according to media reports. 

As Uzbekistan has the largest population among Central Asian countries, analysts underscored the potential to tap the demographic dividend for economic growth.

According to Mirziyoyev, Uzbek people are more and more interested in learning the Chinese language, as well as culture and history. Several thousands of our young women and men are studying in bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in leading Chinese universities to become qualified specialists and take part in the implementation of future joint projects, he said.

Driver of the region 

Zhao predicted the further elevation of China-Uzbekistan relations against the backdrop of sound China-Central Asia cooperation and coordination. The inaugural China-Central Asia Summit held in May 2023 in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, marked a milestone. 

Mirziyoyev hailed the format which has huge potential for building a model of comprehensive development of the states of the [Central Asian] region and the western provinces of China, opens the prospects for the transition to close industrial and technological cooperation, as well as the development of transport, digital and humanitarian connectivity of the Central Asian countries with China.

Zhu regards the presidential visit as a follow-up to implement bilateral and multilateral agreements reached at the summit in 2023 and a new start which charts the course for future development of the region. 

China-Central Asia relations have embarked on another 30 golden years, and the region now has an increasing strategic status in China's neighboring diplomacy, analysts said.

China-Uzbekistan cooperation has become an important driver of China-Central Asia cooperation and continues revitalizing regional development and integration, Zhao said. 

Given Uzbekistan's central position in Central Asia, its openness and connectivity facilitate intra-region integration and its security and prosperity are key to the stability of the entire Central Asian region and China's northwestern borders, the expert said.