On April 15 this year, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, S. Umurzakov, discussed topical issues of mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as measures taken to prevent the impact of the pandemic on the economies of two countries with Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China Zhong Shan via videoconference.

Minister of Commerce of the PRC, Zhong Shan, expressed sincere gratitude to the top officials of the Republic of Uzbekistan for well-timed assistance of Uzbekistan at the very peak of COVID-19 in China.

In turn, the Chinese side expressed its readiness to elaborate on sending additional humanitarian assistance to Uzbekistan, including required medical products, equipment, personal hygiene products to combat the pandemic, as well as provide comprehensive assistance in eliminating its consequences.

The Minister of Commerce of the PRC assured that the Chinese side would do its best to successfully implement the joint initiatives of Uzbekistan and China on bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic, transport and logistics areas. The parties noted the priority of joint work on attracting large Chinese companies to the investment projects in Uzbekistan, to develop electronic commerce and trade in services, as well as stimulate the Uzbek-Chinese intergovernmental committees and working groups.

In the near future, it is planned to pay special attention to increase trade within agricultural, meat and dairy industries, which will accelerate the initiative providing establishment of Uzbek-Chinese certification and phytosanitary control centers, the test results of which will be recognized by both countries. In this view, the parties worked out the equipping of phytosanitary laboratories in Andijan, Namangan and Tashkent region through Chinese grants. These measures will significantly strengthen the position of Uzbek manufacturers in the Chinese market.

Negotiations confirmed the commitment of both parties to continue the implementation of investment projects expected for Uzbekistan through direct Chinese investment totaling more than USD 4 billion.

After negotiations, the parties agreed to continue close contacts between the two ministries and maintain direct, constant interaction, which will bring bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level.