Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Wednesday in Astana, Kazakhstan, ahead of the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The leaders discussed deepening bilateral relations and expanding cooperation across various sectors.
President Xi recalled their fruitful discussions in Xi’an last year, emphasizing that the agreements reached have led to significant progress in China-Kyrgyzstan relations. “Over the past year, we’ve witnessed frequent good news about our cooperation,” Xi remarked. “China is pleased to see a stable and developing Kyrgyzstan and will continue to firmly support your nation in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”
Highlighting the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi proposed exploring new ways to promote high-quality cooperation. He stressed the need to expand economic, trade, and investment ties, enhance connectivity, and develop new quality productive forces. “China is willing to import more high-quality green agricultural products from Kyrgyzstan,” Xi added. He also expressed support for Chinese enterprises investing in Kyrgyzstan and called for accelerating the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project.
President Japarov expressed his appreciation for China’s support, noting that their meeting last year opened a new era in bilateral relations. “Our political relations are developing at a high level,” Japarov said. “Various departments of our countries maintain close communication, sub-national exchanges are booming, and bilateral trade and investment are growing steadily.”
He affirmed Kyrgyzstan’s firm adherence to the one-China principle and welcomed more Chinese enterprises to invest in Kyrgyzstan. “We will provide a good business environment for Chinese enterprises,” Japarov assured. He expressed hope for joint efforts to promote the railway project and strengthen collaboration within the SCO framework.
Both leaders emphasized the importance of advancing mutual interests and contributing to regional stability and development. The meeting underscored the strong partnership between China and Kyrgyzstan and their commitment to deepening cooperation in the future.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
