Xi congratulates Uzbekistan's Karimov on reelection as president

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a congratulatory message to incumbent Uzbek President Islam Karimov on his reelection as the head of state of the Central Asian nation.

In the message, Xi said that since Karimov took office, Uzbekistan has enjoyed political stability, economic development, and improvement of people's livelihood, with continued promotion of the international status and influence of the country.

He voiced his belief that under the leadership of Karimov, Uzbekistan will make new and greater achievements in the cause of national development.

China and Uzbekistan are sincere good friends and partners of mutual-trust, he said, adding that bilateral relations have always maintained a sound momentum of development since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries 23 years ago, with all-round promotion of mutual political trust, mutually-beneficial cooperation and strategic coordination.

Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Uzbekistan relations, and expressed his willingness to join hands with Karimov to push forward the China-Uzbekistan strategic partnership toward operation at high levels, in the greater interest of the two countries and two peoples.

Earlier in the day, the Uzbek central election commission announced that preliminary results showed Karimov has won over 90 percent of the votes in the country's presidential election. Endi