China's Xi congratulates Uzbek president on re-election: state media
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) July 10, 2023

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev to congratulate him on winning a third term as the head of the Central Asian country on Monday, Beijing's state media reported.

"Xi Jinping pointed out, in recent years, under our joint leadership, China-Uzbekistan relations have achieved breakthrough development, and cooperation in various fields has been comprehensively strengthened," state broadcaster CCTV said.

Xi told Mirziyoyev he "very much cherishes the good working relationship and personal friendship with you", CCTV added.

"I am willing to work with you to promote the continuous development of the China-Uzbekistan comprehensive strategic partnership and inject new impetus into the construction of a China-Uzbekistan community with a shared future," Xi said.

Preliminary results Monday showed Mirziyoyev will stay in charge of the tightly controlled, gas-rich state until 2030.

The 65-year-old has promised to open up Uzbekistan to foreign investment and tourism, and implement key domestic reforms in Central Asia's most populous country.

Mirziyoyev, who was running against three largely unknown candidates, won Sunday's election with 87 percent of the vote, the preliminary results showed.

China has renewed its push for massive infrastructure projects in Central Asia as Beijing aims to fill a vacuum left in former Soviet states by Russia.

In May, Xi hosted Mirziyoyev and other Central Asian leaders for a summit in the northern Chinese city of Xi'an.

Speaking to regional leaders, the Chinese leader said the countries must "fully unleash the potential of traditional cooperation in economy, trade, industrial capacity, energy and transport", according to a state media readout at the time.

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