BISHKEK, September 11 (Itar-Tass) - Chinese President Xi Jinping will start his two-day visit to Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday to discuss stronger cooperation between the two countries, especially economic ties, Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry told Itar-Tass.
Xi Jinping plans to hold talks with his Kyrgyz counterpart Almazbek Atambayev and meet with Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev and parliamentary speaker Asylbek Jeenbekov. “Within the framework of this visit the two countries are expected to sign ten agreements, in particular in transport and energy,” Kyrgyz Deputy Foreign Minister Askar Beshimov said.
“Our cooperation in trade, energy, transport, telecommunications, agriculture and other practical spheres registers an ascending trend,” Xi told Kyrgyz reporters ahead of his visit to Bishkek. “China has already become a second trade partner and a second source of investments for Kyrgyzstan. Our countries fully respect the path of development chosen by each other on the basis of national peculiarities, provide mutual support in important issues concerning vital interests and stretch the hand of fellowship, when they are hit by the international financial and economic crisis or serious natural calamities.”
China attaches great importance to relations with Kyrgyzstan, Xi said adding that “these relations have a unique opportunity for development.” “China is set to work together with Kyrgyzstan to constantly deepen political mutual trust, expand mutually advantageous cooperation and step strategic relations to take bilateral partnership to a new, higher level,” he said.
There were no political reasons or discrepancies between the two countries, Atambayev told China’s Xinhua news agency several days ago. “Kyrgyzstan highly appreciates a statement by the new Chinese authorities saying that China will always move along the path of peaceful development and will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion in international and regional affairs,” he said. “As concerns prospects we plan to further develop good neighborly relations.”
“During the visit we plan to sign a large package of bilateral agreements, mainly a joint declaration on strategic partnership relations,” Atambayev said.
On September 13 Xi Jinping will take part in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek.
The annual trade turnover between Kyrgyzstan and China has already exceeded $1 billion. At present, Chinese companies take part in several large-scale economic projects on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, including reconstruction of the Bishkek-Torugart highway and construction of the Datka Kemin power transmission line. China’s TBEA seeks to reconstruct a thermal power plant in Bishkek and lay a rail section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway.