China, Uzbekistan vow to strengthen anti-terror co-op

China hopes to boost law-enforcement and security cooperation with Uzbekistan in the fight against terrorism and narcotics so as to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, a visiting Chinese security official has said. During a meeting with Uzbek President Islam Karimov on Monday, Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun said China-Uzbekistan relations have developed rapidly in recent years and the two countries have broad prospects for comprehensive cooperation. China is willing to work with Uzbekistan to implement important consensus reached by their leaders, he added. He spoke highly of Uzbekistan's active role as the host country for the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Guo expressed the hope that China would further broaden and deepen cooperation with Uzbekistan in various fields within the framework of both bilateral mechanisms and the SCO, saying the two countries should jointly combat terrorist forces like the East Turkistan Islamic Movement. For his part, Karimov said the relationship between Uzbekistan and China is at its best, adding that his country is willing to comprehensively deepen cooperation with China in such fields as politics, economy, security, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Uzbekistan will join hands with China to crack down on the East Turkistan Islamic Movement and lift bilateral relations to a higher level, he said.