Spotlight: Xi's speech bolsters confidence in development of Uzbekistan and beyond

The encouraging progress of the Belt and Road Initiative, cited by Chinese President Xi Jinping in an address to the Uzbek parliament on Wednesday, has injected promising dynamics in the economic development of Uzbekistan and the wider region, experts said.

Xi looked back on the progress in the Belt and Road cooperation and outlined a number of proposals aimed at furthering such cooperation. He said that over 70 countries and international organizations are participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and that China's trade with countries participating in the initiative surpassed one trillion U.S. dollars in 2015.

"China is the largest investor in Uzbekistan. It is very important for the country and for the entire Central Asian region as a whole," said Stanislav Pritchin, research fellow at the Center for Central Asia and Caucasus Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russia.

Pritchin said the Eurasia region needs investment, and lauded the role of Chinese investment in promoting regional development.

China has been Uzbekistan's second largest trading partner and biggest source of investment for three years in a row.

At present, there are some 650 joint ventures involving Chinese investors in different sectors in Uzbekistan, Pritchin said.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt that links China with Europe through Central and Western Asia by inland routes, and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road connecting China with other Asian countries, Africa and Europe by sea routes. It is a development initiative and framework that focuses on inter-connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily in Eurasia.

"Investment in transport infrastructure, in the first place, contributes to the development of the region, as well as to the development of its relations not only with China, but also with world markets," Pritchin said.

In his speech on Wednesday, Xi compared ancient cities like Tashkent and Bukhara to pearls scattered along the ancient Silk Road, which witnessed exchanges between East and West.

Located in the center of a large continent, Uzbekistan has a need to enhance connectivity with the outside world.

Yismat, a scholar at the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies, said that the Belt and Road Initiative has opened up many opportunities for Uzbekistan and that early harvests are expected on some projects.

Pritchin believed the Belt and Road Initiative and the investment in specific projects have made it possible for countries in the region to tap their potentials by giving them opportunities to display their products in world market and expanding their circle of economic partners.

Vladimir Evseev, deputy director of Russia's Commonwealth of Independent States Institute, said he is looking forward to the Belt and Road cooperation bringing long-term investment of up to 20 years.

"Uzbekistan is very interested" in such investment, he said. Endi