China and Uzbekistan, both as members of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO), have made active efforts in
maintaining regional stability and promoting common development, a
senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said on
Tuesday.
Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the
Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks as
he met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
The CPC and the Chinese government, which attach great
importance to the friendly cooperation with Uzbekistan, are willing
to upgrade the relationship between the two countries in an
all-round way, and have confidence in the prospects for the
development of their friendly cooperation, Li said.
Last year, bilateral relations entered a new phase after
President Karimov and Chinese President Hu Jintao signed an
agreement on the friendly cooperation partnership of China and
Uzbekistan, he said.
While recalling the history of friendship between the two
countries, Li said China and Uzbekistan have conducted active
coordination on major international and regional issues.
He reiterated China's support for the choice of Uzbekistan for
its development road and appreciated Uzbekistan's support for China
on some important issues such as Taiwan and human rights.
During their meeting, Karimov highly praised China's
contribution to the development of the SCO.
He said Uzbekistan will continue to give strong backing to
China's efforts in strengthening the SCO and his country will,
along with other SCO members, work for maintaining regional peace
and stability so as to promote common development.
Karimov also said he was looking forward to meeting with
President Hu at the upcoming SCO summit to be held in Shanghai on
June 15.
The SCO, established in 2001, groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Li arrived in Tashkent Tuesday afternoon to start a good-will
visit to Uzbekistan, the first leg of his four-nation tour, which
will also take him to Bulgaria, Switzerland and Norway.
(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2006)
