2nd LD Writethru: Xi calls for building "green, healthy, intelligent and peaceful" Silk Road

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for building a "green, healthy, intelligent and peaceful" Silk Road while addressing the Uzbek Parliament on Wednesday.

Speaking to the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis, the Uzbek parliament, Xi assessed the primary achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative and invited Uzbekistan and other countries to jointly carry forward the initiative in both breadth and depth.

"We will, on the basis of the principles of voluntarism, equality and mutual benefit, join hands to build a win-win cooperation network for the Belt and Road Initiative featuring pragmatism, enterprise, inclusiveness, mutual learning, openness, innovation and common development, and contribute to the revitalization of the global economy," Xi said.

The Chinese president pledged to uphold the principle of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and synergize development plans among countries joining in the Belt and Road Initiative.

"On that basis, we will carry out bilateral and regional cooperation and create a new cooperation model underpinned by trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, focusing on connectivity, production capacity cooperation and people-to-people exchange, and enabled by mutually beneficial financial cooperation," he said.

The president said China aims to make consorted efforts with partner countries to develop a new multi-player, all-dimensional and cross-sectoral platform of win-win cooperation.

He also voiced support for advancing projects in priority areas under the Belt and Road Initiative, including the infrastructure networks, production capacity cooperation, financial innovation and cooperation on people-to-people exchanges.

In particular, Xi suggested that the partner countries deepen cooperation in environmental protection, intensify ecological preservation and build a green Silk Road.

"We need to deepen cooperation in medical care and health, strengthen win-win cooperation in the alert of communicable diseases, disease prevention and control, medical assistance and traditional medicine, and build a Silk Road for health," said the president.

Meanwhile, on human resources cooperation, China proposed a vocational skills cooperation alliance to train and produce professionals in various fields to build an intelligent Silk Road.

On the security front, the president called for fostering a security governance model with Asian features and building a Silk Road for peace.

Summing up the early harvests of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi said over 70 countries and international organizations have taken part in the grand development plan and some 30 countries have signed cooperation deals with China to jointly push forward the initiative over the past three years.

China's trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative surpassed 1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2015, accounting for a quarter of its total foreign trade, according to the president.

Chinese enterprises' direct investment in 49 countries along the economic corridor reached nearly 15 billion dollars in 2015, up 18 percent year on year, while those countries' investment in China exceeded 8.2 billion dollars, up 25 percent.

China has inked production capacity cooperation deals with 20 countries and jointly set up 46 overseas economic cooperation zones in 17 Belt and Road countries, with accumulated Chinese investment topping 14 billion dollars and creating 60,000 local jobs.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank entered into operation with 57 active participant countries, along with the establishment of the Silk Road Fund and the China-Eurasia Economic Cooperation Fund.

As the Belt and Road Initiative's primary planning and layout has completed, Xi said it is now stepping into the stage of taking roots and intensive cultivation for sustained development.

On his part, Uzbek President Islam Karimov extended gratitude for Xi's "passionate speech," saying that the Chinese president and the Chinese people are "true friends" of the Uzbek people, and that Uzbekistan is willing to constantly deepen traditional friendship and win-win cooperation with China.

Qodir Djuraev, a member of the Uzbek Parliament, told Xinhua after the speech that he is impressed by Xi's extensive knowledge of, and respect for, the Uzbek culture.

"President Xi visited my constituency Bukhara yesterday. I am grateful that an important world leader like him came to my hometown," Djuraev said.

"China was among the first countries to recognize Uzbekistan. Its support for us during our most difficult times is precious and we will never forget a friend like this," he said.

The Chinese president arrived in the central-southern Uzbek city of Bukhara on Tuesday, kicking off his state visit to the Central Asian country.

China and Uzbekistan upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership earlier on Wednesday after talks between Xi and Karimov in Tashkent.

Xi will also attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on June 23-24.

Uzbekistan is the third and final stop of Xi's three-nation tour, which has already taken him to Serbia and Poland. Endi