Uzbek President meets with leading Chinese business community in Xi’an

Xi’an, The Gulf Observer: As part of the second day of the state visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to China, several business events took place on Friday.

The President of Uzbekistan, accompanied by the Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China He Lifeng, visited the Exhibition of Uzbekistan – China cooperation, which is taking place in the city of Xi’an.

The delegations examined the stands dedicated to the cooperation between Uzbekistan and China in industry, infrastructure development, agriculture, science, education, and innovation. They were informed about the results and plans for mutually beneficial partnerships, new agreements, and promising investment projects developed specifically for the visit proposed for implementation in Uzbekistan.

On the sidelines of the exhibition, a solemn ceremony of launching new joint projects was held via teleconference between the Chinese city of Xi’an, Syrdarya, Tashkent, Jizzakh, and Samarkand regions of Uzbekistan.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, by pressing a symbolic button, launched 15 production facilities for manufacturing cars and electric vehicles, building materials, a wide range of metal products and rolled products, medical supplies, and the construction of new enterprises worth $3.3 billion.

Then the President of Uzbekistan met with leading representatives of China’s business, financial, and investment circles.

The event was also attended by the Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China He Lifeng, Secretary of the CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee Zhao Yide, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Jin Liqun, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Ren Hongbin, as well as heads of more than 100 large companies, corporations and banks such as China National Petroleum Corporation, China National Chemical Engineering Company, China CAMC Engineering, BYD Auto Industry, Sungrow Power Supply, China North Industries Corporation, Xinjiang Hualing Group, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, Huawei Technologies, China Development Bank, Eximbank, other commercial and financial institutions.

Having warmly welcomed the participants of the roundtable discussion, the President of Uzbekistan noted the symbolism of the meeting in the ancient city of Xi’an, one of the economic centers of China, from where the Great Silk Road began many centuries ago.

The President of Uzbekistan emphasized the unprecedented cooperation achieved in recent years between the two countries. It was noted that mutual trade doubled and amounted to $9 billion. For the first time, the volume of Chinese investments in Uzbekistan approached $11 billion.

Today, more than 1.7 thousand enterprises with the participation of Chinese capital are successfully operating in Uzbekistan. Several major joint projects are being implemented in energy, oil and gas, chemical, mining, textile, and other industries.

Particular satisfaction was expressed with fruitful negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which special attention was paid to the use of bilateral trade, economic and investment potential, and the creation of favorable conditions for Chinese companies in Uzbekistan market.

The successful holding of joint business events within the framework of the visit of the President of Uzbekistan was also noted.

In particular, agreements were reached on implementing new high-tech industrial, trade, and investment projects worth more than $25 billion in energy, chemistry, metallurgy, geology, automotive, electrical engineering, and construction.

“All this testifies to the obvious success of cooperation between Uzbekistan and China, the high mutual interest in deepening mutually beneficial partnership”, the President emphasized.

The Head of state drew the attention of the meeting participants to the radical improvement of the investment climate in Uzbekistan, the most comfortable conditions created for investors.

The presence in Uzbekistan of vast opportunities for organizing joint ventures for manufacturing products with high added value and its further export to the markets of third countries was noted. The most promising sectors are green energy, chemistry, automotive, electrical engineering, metallurgy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and others.

The President of Uzbekistan invited Chinese business people to take advantage of these unique opportunities, emphasizing their readiness to provide Chinese businesses with the necessary production infrastructure and a stable market, support, and co-finance projects.

During the exchange of views, the heads of the largest Chinese corporations, companies, and banks confirmed their commitment to the further development of cooperation with Uzbekistan. Readiness was expressed to enhance practical interaction in priority areas, especially in creating high-tech and innovative industries.

The President of Uzbekistan instructed the heads of ministries and agencies of Uzbekistan to take the implementation of the voiced initiatives under their control, as well as to adopt an appropriate action plan indicating step-by-step mechanisms and specific deadlines for implementation.