Kyrgyzstan welcomes China to participate in infrastructure construction

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said here Friday that his country welcomes China to actively participate in its infrastructure construction while meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Kyrgyzstan also hopes to increase security cooperation with China to resolutely crack down on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, Atambayev said.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of an annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.

Xi said that since the two countries established a strategic partnership three years ago, they have constantly strengthened political mutual trust, achieved fruitful results in cooperation in a wide range of areas, and maintained close communication with and supported each other on international and regional affairs.

The Chinese side is willing to work with Kyrgyzstan to expand mutually-beneficial cooperation in all areas to achieve common development and prosperity, he said.

China firmly supports Kyrgyzstan in choosing a development path that adapts to its own national conditions, and its efforts to safeguard national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Xi said.

The Chinese president also proposed that the two sides speed up the blueprinting of a route map on the joint development of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, enhance agricultural and production capacity cooperation, give full play to the advantages of their strong economic complementarity, and keep the sound momentum of the bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Xi called on the two countries to press ahead with major infrastructure construction cooperation projects, such as railway, thermal power plant, urban road networks and agricultural irrigation system, so as to bring benefits to the Kyrgyz people as early as possible.

Atambayev said Kyrgyzstan and China are like brothers and there is no obstacle between the two countries.

Kyrgyzstan firmly supports China's principles and positions on issues related to China's core concerns, such as Taiwan and Xinjiang, he added. Endi