OREANDA-NEWS. July 21, 2014. The regular session of the subcommittee on trade and economic cooperation of the Uzbek-Chinese Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation took place in Tashkent.

The event was attended by heads of ministries and other government agencies, companies and corporations of Uzbekistan and China responsible for spheres like foreign economic relations, banking and finance, trade and industry, investments, economy, oil and gas, chemical and energy sectors, agriculture and water management, transport and transport communications, information technologies, construction and food industries, geology, pharmaceuticals.

Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan E.Ganiev pointed out in particular that the cooperation between Uzbekistan and China has been advancing consistently along all the areas, an important normative foundation of which is built by agreements reached during meetings of the heads of our two states. President Islam Karimov’s participation in the 4th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in May 2014 and the meeting with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping epitomized a new stage in the evolution of the strategic partnership between our two nations.

Currently, the ties between the two countries have been moving forward steadily on the basis of the Treaty on Partnership Relations of Friendship and Cooperation, the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of Strategic Partnership and the Joint Declaration on the Further Development and Enhancement of Bilateral Relations of Strategic Partnership. Founded in 2011, the Uzbek-Chinese Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation facilitates the enlargement of trade-economic and investment ties, interaction in security, cultural-humanitarian, energy, transport and scientific-technological spheres.

Uzbekistan and China have enjoyed a most-favored-nation regime in the economic area. The volume of mutual trade has been increasing constantly. In January-May 2014, the indicator amounted to nearly 2.2 billion US dollars. 482 joint ventures established with a share of the Chinese capital have been operating in Uzbekistan. More than seventy companies of China have representative offices in our country.

Chinese businesspeople have been enthusiastic and energetic in a range of economic zones created in Uzbekistan. Notably, in excess of fifteen joint schemes with the involvement of direct investments worth 50 million dollars are projected to be implemented this year at the Jizzakh Special Industrial Zone. Detailed information on the opportunities and privileges at the economic zones of Navoi, Angren and Jizzakh has been presented at the forum.

The cooperation with the PRC has been consistently advancing also in the fuel and energy sector. The fact that all the four lines of the gas pipeline Central Asia-China pass through the territory of Uzbekistan is indicative of the high level of reciprocal confidence and mutually advantageous partnership.

Chinese companies take part in geological prospecting and the development of hydrocarbon deposits in our country. The China National Petroleum Corporation has been active also in the realization of a project on deep reprocessing of natural gas at the Mubarek Gas Chemical Complex.

It was stressed at the session that wide-ranging efforts have been in progress to secure the execution of agreements reached during meetings of leaders of the two countries and thus geared to meet the interests of our two nations.

“It is delightful that the trade and economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and China has been developing steadily,” says Assistant Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China Zhang Xiangchen. “The activities of this committee create optimal conditions for the discussion of the course of execution of deals reached during highest-level meetings and for the elaboration and implementation of joint projects.”

The forum participants discussed in detail the issues pertaining to the further enhancement of investment cooperation, realization of a mutually advantageous scheme to manufacture tires for automobiles and agricultural machinery at the Angren Special Industrial Zone as well as the development of the Jizzakh Special Industrial Zone. The two sides exchanged views on the further expansion of partnership in the hydrocarbon sector, chemical industry, agriculture, production of construction materials, automotive industry.