Xi urges China, Kyrgyzstan to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation

ASTANA -- China and Kyrgyzstan should explore new ways of thinking to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to make it continue to deepen and more effective, said Chinese President Xi Jinping here on Wednesday.

Xi said the two sides should expand economic, trade and investment cooperation, enhance connectivity and expand cooperation on new quality productive forces.

Xi made the remarks in his talks with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov ahead of the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana.

Xi said that the two leaders held fruitful talks in Xi'an last May and reached many consensuses on China-Kyrgyzstan relations and bilateral cooperation in various fields. Over the past year or so, these consensuses have been effectively implemented, and good news on China-Kyrgyzstan cooperation has been reported frequently.

Good neighbors wish each other well, Xi said, adding that China is happy to see a stable and developing Kyrgyzstan and will, as always, firmly support Kyrgyzstan in safeguarding national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and in finding a development path suited to its national conditions.

China is willing to deepen the synergy of development strategies with Kyrgyzstan, expand the sharing of experience in governance, promote all-round mutually beneficial cooperation and advance the building of a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future, Xi noted.

The Chinese president said that China is willing to import more high-quality green agricultural products from Kyrgyzstan, support Chinese enterprises in investing and doing business in the Central Asian country, strengthen cooperation in areas such as new energy vehicles and cross-border e-commerce, and accelerate the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project.

Xi said that the two sides should give full play to the platforms such as the Chinese traditional medicine center in Kyrgyzstan, the Chinese Cultural Center and the Luban Workshop to nurture more successors of China-Kyrgyzstan friendly cooperation.

China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Kyrgyzstan, continue to strengthen the China-Central Asia mechanism, and ensure that the SCO develops in the right direction that serves the common interests of all parties, he added.

For his part, Japarov said he still vividly remembers his visit to China in May last year, which opened up a new era in bilateral relations. At present, the political relations between Kyrgyzstan and China are developing at a high level, various departments of the two countries maintain close communication, sub-national exchanges and cooperation are booming, and bilateral trade and investment are growing steadily.

He said that in the face of global changes unseen in a century, Kyrgyzstan-China relations have always been rock-solid, and there are no political differences or cooperation obstacles between the two countries.

Japarov said Kyrgyzstan firmly adheres to the one-China principle, adding that Kyrgyzstan welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in the country, and will provide good business environment for Chinese enterprises. It is hoped that the two sides will work together to promote the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project and close multilateral communication and collaboration in the SCO and other platforms.