OREANDA-NEWS. April 20, 2011. Uzbekistan has been developing relations with China from the first years of independence. Over the last period, a large number of summits and visits of various delegations have been held.

170 documents covering various spheres of bilateral relations have been signed between Uzbekistan and China. The Interstate agreement on partnership relations, friendship and cooperation, signed during the state visit of President Islam Karimov to China in 2005, is an important factor in enhancing mutual cooperation.

Speaking about Uzbek-Chinese relations, one has to note the consistent development of trade-economic and investment cooperation. A proof of this is that China ranks first among countries investing in Uzbekistan and second among Uzbekistan’s trade partners. The volume of bilateral trade in 2010 made up USD 2.85 billion.

There are 347 companies with investments from China in Uzbekistan. The Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of Uzbekistan lists 64 representative offices of Chinese companies. They work in the fields of export and import operations, textile, agricultural products processing, information technologies and others.

In the conditions of the global financial crisis, the issue of overcoming its consequences has become one of the important aspects of the interstate cooperation. In order to solve this task, Uzbekistan and China are paying particular attention to expanding trade-economic, investment and financial cooperation.

In the framework of financial cooperation, a number of projects are being implemented through interest-free and long-term concessional loans of the government of China and export credits of Chinese Eximbank. From the credit line of the government of China for SCO member states, the total amount of loans for infrastructure development in Uzbekistan is over USD 600 million.

Investment cooperation is actively developing in the fields of oil and gas, and mining. For example, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is conducting geological prospecting in the Aral Sea area, and Ustyurt, Bukhara-Khiva and Fergana investment blocks. The commissioning of the Central Asia-China pipeline has opened new opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector.

At the same time, there is a huge potential for cooperation between the two countries in many sectors, including transport, logistics, construction, telecommunications, high technologies etc. In particular, Uzbekistan and China can use the vast resources in the free economic zone Navoi.

During the state visit of the Chinese President Hu Jintao to Uzbekistan in June 2010, a joint declaration was signed on comprehensive development and expansion of friendship, cooperation and partnership. Also, several documents were signed on cooperation in technical, economic, oil and gas, and high technologies fields.

In accordance with the loan agreement signed between the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan and China’s State Development Bank in June 2010, the Chinese bank will allocate USD 75 million for financing projects of small and private businesses, as well as investment projects in Uzbekistan.

These banks of Uzbekistan and China have cooperated effectively since 2005. During this period, the National Bank of Uzbekistan was provided with two credit lines worth USD 80 million to finance small business and private enterprise projects. The entrepreneurs of Uzbekistan have received financial assistance for 120 projects.

Uzbekistan Railways is implementing a USD 75.53 million investment project aimed at renewing the passenger locomotives. It is being realized using a long-term soft loan in the framework of the financial and technical cooperation between Uzbekistan and China.

In accordance with the contract signed between Uzbekistan Railways and Zhuzhou electric locomotive building company, modern locomotives were delivered from China in 2010. New high-speed locomotives, which can reach the speed of 160 kmh, have allowed to save time for passengers and reduce operation costs.

Representatives of Chinese business China regularly participate in exhibitions, fairs, business forums and conferences held in Uzbekistan, while entrepreneurs and farmers of Uzbekistan visit similar events in China. Because of the great demand for Uzbek cotton, representatives of China regularly participate in traditional International Uzbek Cotton Fair in Tashkent.

The Uzbek-Chinese relations, which are based on friendship and mutual trust, will continue to evolve in the same spirit for the well-being of the two nations.