ISRS experts held a meeting with their colleagues from the Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (IREECA) of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. During the conversation, two sides discussed prospects for expanding Uzbek-Chinese cooperation. They also exchanged views on initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan Sh. Mirziyoyev at the second Belt and Road forum in April in Beijing, the SCO summit in Bishkek and the CICA summit in Dushanbe in June.

Chinese experts paid special attention to the proposal of President of Uzbekistan on holding an economic forum in the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which will bring together business circles and investors and serve as a convenient platform for attracting investments. A strong focus was also given to the concept for the introduction of “smart” agriculture and agro-innovations, to adopt the SCO “Green Belt” program for the widespread development of resource-saving and environmentally friendly technologies. In this regard, Chinese partners expressed their readiness to develop mutually beneficial cooperation in the agricultural sector.

The deputy director of IREECA, Sun Li, gave a high assessment of the socio-economic achievements of Uzbekistan over the past two years. According to him, “the stable growth of the economy contributed to improve Uzbekistan's position in international ratings”. It was emphasized that Chinese business circles are showing a high interest for investment projects in Uzbekistan.

At the end of the meeting, Chinese experts noted the importance of intensifying ties between IREECA and the ISRS in order to conduct joint researches and exchange views on issues of mutual interest.