In 2015, our two-way trade reached 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, up by more than 70-fold compared with the early days of our diplomatic relations. China has been Uzbekistan's biggest source of investment and second largest trading partner for three years. All four pipelines of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline system run through Uzbekistan. In February this year, our two sides completed the construction of the Angren-Pap railway tunnel, the longest of its kind in Central Asia and a new link in the transportation corridor connecting China and Central Asia. Both sides support the building of a railway linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and will reach out to the relevant country to make progress in the project. Our two countries have jointly established plants for the production of tire, PVC and soda, carried out cooperation in cotton processing, and registered initial success in the production of ceramic tiles, smart phones, leather products and shoes in the China-Uzbekistan Industrial Park. It is fair to say that important "early harvests" have been achieved in our cooperation on the Belt and Road.
Both China and Uzbekistan have a long history and splendid culture. People-to-people and cultural exchanges have been part and parcel of our bilateral relations. In recent years, the two sides have made fresh progress in student exchange programs, Chinese language training, sub-national exchanges, joint archaeological projects and translation of literary works. As a result of these, the friendship between our peoples has deepened. Cultural cooperation has brought our peoples closer. Thanks to our good collaboration, the first Confucius Institute in Central Asia was opened in Tashkent 11 years ago and has since produced more than 3,000 "ambassadors" promoting China-Uzbekistan friendship. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Northwest University of China have worked actively with Uzbekistan on joint archaeological research and restoration, making important contributions to restoring the historical sites of the Silk Road. Just recently, the Uzbek edition of the Cat Country, a novel written by renowned Chinese writer Lao She and translated by a Uzbek sinologist, has been published. I trust it will open another window for people in Uzbekistan to know more about Chinese literature.
China and Uzbekistan are a community of common interest and shared future featuring equality, solidarity and win-win cooperation. To pursue development and national renewal is the dream of both our peoples. Given the deep changes in the international landscape, slow recovery in the world economy and daunting tasks of development for all countries, to enhance our bilateral cooperation in all respects meets the trend of history and serves the fundamental interest of our two countries and peoples. We hope that China and Uzbekistan will make greater achievements in the pursuit of common development and prosperity.
-- We need to enhance political mutual trust and mutual support. The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius said, "In his dealings with friends, one should be trustworthy in what he says." Political mutual trust is an important basis for the sound growth of China-Uzbekistan relations. We will continue to extend each other firm support on issues concerning each other's core interests such as sovereignty, security and development. China firmly supports Uzbekistan in its independent choice of a development path that suits its national conditions, understands and respects the measures taken by the Uzbek government for national stability and economic and social development, and opposes interference by external forces in Uzbekistan's internal affairs.
-- We need to work together to ensure the success of the major initiative of the Belt and Road and explore broader space for cooperation based on mutual benefit. While strengthening cooperation in the energy and resources sector, we also need to explore other areas of cooperation, facilitate bilateral trade and make it better-structured. We should seek converging interests, deepen production capacity cooperation in light of local conditions and translate our economic complementarity into more tangible outcomes of cooperation.
-- We need to increase understanding between our peoples and deepen cultural, education, tourism, archaeological and sub-national cooperation to foster a greater sense of pride and confidence in China and Uzbekistan, both ancient civilizations along the Silk Road. We should leverage the two Confucius Institutes in Uzbekistan as bridges between our youth and nurture China-Uzbekistan friendship among future generations. We need to support cultural events such as the Chinese "Happy Spring Festival" and the Uzbek "Oriental Charm" staged in each other's country and bring well-received performances and fine artistic works to more people.
-- We need to implement the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and deepen China-Uzbekistan law enforcement and security cooperation. It is important that we have a keen understanding of the security situation, step up information sharing, combat the "three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism," drug-trafficking and other forms of transnational organized crime so that we can jointly foster a secure environment for peaceful development of the region and ensure the safety of our peoples and their property.
-- We need to enhance strategic coordination in international affairs and deepen our coordination in multilateral fora such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). We should give firm support to each other's constructive international initiatives, exchange views in a timely manner on global issues such as global economic governance, energy security and water resources, and on regional and hot-spot issues such as Afghanistan and the situation in West Asia and North Africa to jointly uphold our strategic interests. China supports Uzbekistan in playing a bigger role in international affairs.
