Full text of Chinese president's signed article on Uzbek newspaper (1)

Chinese President Xi Jinping published a signed article on leading Uzbek newspaper Narodnoye Slove under the title of "A Glorious New Chapter in China-Uzbekistan Friendship" on Tuesday, ahead of his state visit to the Central Asian country.

The English translated version of the article, also carried by the Jahon news agency, is as follows.

A Glorious New Chapter in China-Uzbekistan Friendship

By H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China

"Grass-covered land is lush green and snow-clad mountains are translucent and silvery," to quote a poem written by a Chinese envoy in Ming Dynasty after his mission to Central Asia over 600 years ago. The magnificent landscape of Uzbekistan is familiar to and admired by the Chinese people since ancient times. I first visited your beautiful country in September 2013 and was deeply impressed by its distinct natural scenery, time-honored history and cultural heritage, and the hard-working and talented people.

At this fascinating time of lush green, I will once again visit Uzbekistan and attend the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tashkent at the invitation of President Islam Karimov. This is a visit I am very much looking forward to.

The people of our two countries are diligent, courageous and honest. They cherish friendship and share similar views on personal dedication to the welfare of the nation and the world. Over 2,000 years ago, the ancient Silk Road connected China and Uzbekistan and has since witnessed the growth of two-way trade, mutual learning and people-to-people friendship. Zhang Qian in Western Han Dynasty, Xuan Zang in Tang Dynasty and Chen Cheng in Ming Dynasty traveled to Uzbekistan as an envoy or for a stopover. Renowned historical and cultural figures in Uzbekistan such as Alisher Navoi, Mirza Ulugbek and Muhammad Al Khwarizmi are known in China for their works and thoughts. Central Asia is the meeting place of Chinese and Western cultures, and Uzbekistan has played an important role as a bridge of communication. Over the centuries, China and Uzbekistan have maintained close contacts and fostered a fine tradition of friendly exchanges, thus laying a solid foundation for the good-neighborly relations we enjoy today.

Uzbekistan is a major country in Central Asia. China views its relations with Uzbekistan from a strategic and long-term perspective. China was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Uzbekistan shortly after its independence. Over the past 24 years, bilateral relations have stood the test of time and changes in the international landscape and kept a momentum of sound and steady growth. Our two sides have rendered each other firm support on issues concerning our respective core interests and achieved fruitful results in cooperation in various fields.

Since 2013, President Karimov and I have stayed in close touch by way of meetings, phone calls and correspondence, and have developed good working relations and deep personal friendship. Our two sides have signed such important documents as the Treaty on Friendly Cooperation and the Development Plan for the Strategic Partnership (2014-2018), thus cementing the political and legal foundation of bilateral relations. We are jointly building the Belt and Road, synergizing our national strategies, seeking innovative drivers for cooperation, and enhancing international coordination and security cooperation. With bilateral cooperation growing in both breadth and depth, China-Uzbekistan relations have entered a golden era of rapid development.

Jointly building the Belt and Road is a highlight and priority in our bilateral cooperation. In policy communication, our two countries have signed the cooperation document on jointly building the Belt and Road and are working on an outline of cooperation plan. China appreciates that Uzbekistan was one of the first countries to express interest in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and has joined it as a founding member.

In 2015, our two-way trade reached 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, up by more than 70-fold compared with the early days of our diplomatic relations. China has been Uzbekistan's biggest source of investment and second largest trading partner for three years. All four pipelines of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline system run through Uzbekistan. In February this year, our two sides completed the construction of the Angren-Pap railway tunnel, the longest of its kind in Central Asia and a new link in the transportation corridor connecting China and Central Asia. Both sides support the building of a railway linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and will reach out to the relevant country to make progress in the project. Our two countries have jointly established plants for the production of tire, PVC and soda, carried out cooperation in cotton processing, and registered initial success in the production of ceramic tiles, smart phones, leather products and shoes in the China-Uzbekistan Industrial Park. It is fair to say that important "early harvests" have been achieved in our cooperation on the Belt and Road.

Both China and Uzbekistan have a long history and splendid culture. People-to-people and cultural exchanges have been part and parcel of our bilateral relations. In recent years, the two sides have made fresh progress in student exchange programs, Chinese language training, sub-national exchanges, joint archaeological projects and translation of literary works. As a result of these, the friendship between our peoples has deepened. Cultural cooperation has brought our peoples closer. Thanks to our good collaboration, the first Confucius Institute in Central Asia was opened in Tashkent 11 years ago and has since produced more than 3,000 "ambassadors" promoting China-Uzbekistan friendship. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Northwest University of China have worked actively with Uzbekistan on joint archaeological research and restoration, making important contributions to restoring the historical sites of the Silk Road. Just recently, the Uzbek edition of the Cat Country, a novel written by renowned Chinese writer Lao She and translated by a Uzbek sinologist, has been published. I trust it will open another window for people in Uzbekistan to know more about Chinese literature. (mo