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June 23, 2016

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Xi calls for green, healthy silk road

PRESIDENT Xi Jinping called for a “green, healthy, intelligent and peaceful” Silk Road when he addressed the Uzbek Parliament yesterday.

Xi said environmental cooperation among countries participating in China’s Belt and Road initiative should be deepened, the idea of green development put into practice, and efforts to protect the ecological environment intensified.

On health, he called on participating countries to deepen medical and health cooperation, and strengthen the exchange of information about infectious diseases, epidemic prevention and control, medical assistance and traditional medicine.

On an intelligent Silk Road, Xi proposed deepening cooperation in personnel training in various fields.

To build a peaceful road, he suggested countries deepen cooperation in security areas, implement the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security in Asia, and promote the building of a security governance mode with Asian characteristics.

China’s trade with countries participating in the initiative surpassed US$1 trillion in 2015, accounting for a quarter of its total foreign trade, Xi said. Over 70 countries and international organizations had taken part in the initiative and some 30 countries had signed cooperation deals with China to push forward the initiative over the past three years, he added.

Chinese enterprises’ direct investment in 49 countries along the economic corridor reached nearly US$15 billion last year, up 18 percent year on year, while those countries’ investment in China exceeded US$8.2 billion, up 25 percent.

China has signed production capacity cooperation deals with 20 countries and jointly set up 46 overseas economic cooperation zones in 17 Belt and Road countries, Xi said, with accumulated Chinese investment topping US$14 billion and creating 60,000 local jobs.

Meanwhile, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank had entered into operation with 57 active participant countries, and the Silk Road Fund and a China-Eurasia Economic Cooperation Fund was also established.

China and Uzbekistan upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership yesterday after Xi held talks with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov. The upgrade was based on the “unprecedented high standard of China-Uzbekistan high-level interaction, political mutual trust and win-win cooperation” since establishing a strategic partnership in 2012, they said a joint statement.

The two countries pledged to continue supporting each other on issues concerning their core interests, and not allow a third country or any group to conduct activities on their soil that will harm the other side’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

China and Uzbekistan will maintain regular contact at all levels, have timely exchanges on major bilateral, regional and international issues and promote cooperation between government departments, legislatures, social groups, enterprises and financial institutions of the two countries, the statement said.

Uzbekistan reaffirmed its stance in upholding the one-China policy and its opposition to “Taiwan independence.” It said it supported the peaceful development of cross-strait ties and all efforts made by the Chinese government to realize peaceful reunification.


 

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