China-Kyrgyzstan ties expected to reach new heights

BISHKEK, June 13– Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz politicians, experts and scholars expressed their expectation that China-Kyrgyzstan relations will reach new heights.

On Tuesday, Xi published a signed article on major Kyrgyz media titled “May China-Kyrgyzstan Friendship Thrive Like an Evergreen Tree,” saying that the two countries “are good neighbors, good friends, good partners, and good brothers,” and have set “a fine example of a new type of state-to-state relations featuring mutual respect, equality and win-win cooperation.”

The Chinese president said China wants to work with Kyrgyzstan to enhance strategic trust, deepen Belt and Road cooperation, strengthen security cooperation, expand people-to-people exchanges and step up international cooperation.

Many Kyrgyz people from political, media and academic circles said they are inspired by Xi’s high evaluation of bilateral ties and the important proposals he put forward in the article on deepening cooperation and meeting challenges together to ensure the growth of bilateral relations, adding that they expect Xi’s visit to usher in a new phase in bilateral relationship and cooperation in various fields.

Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov has said that China is indeed Kyrgyzstan’s good neighbor, good friend and good partner, adding that his country is ready to work with China to make Xi’s visit a historic one which
will push the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries to a higher level.

Iskhak Massaliyev, chairman of the Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan, said Xi voiced his unswerving support for Kyrgyzstan and intense desire to further develop the bilateral relations.Xi’s propositions on developing bilateral ties are very significant, he added, expressing the hope that Xi’s visit will achieve fruitful results and uplift bilateral ties and cooperation in various areas.

Kubanychbek Taabaldiyev, director of the Kyrgyz state news agency Kabar, said he is very much impressed by Xi’s expounding of bilateral ties in his signed article that says “the solidarity and mutual assistance that we have demonstrated in times of difficulty have proven that we are good neighbors, good friends, good partners, and good brothers,” and “having no outstanding issues in our bilateral ties, we firmly support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests.”

“We must highly value Xi’s propositions on China-Kyrgyzstan relations as they are critical to the development of Kyrgyzstan as well as their comprehensive strategic partnership,” he added.

Kubatbek Kokombaev, head of the department of international regional relations of Kyrgyz National University, said Kyrgyzstan-China ties have maintained high-level development and the two sides are devoted to stronger mutual political trust, deeper pragmatic cooperation and closer cultural
exchanges.

Xi’s expounding of China-Kyrgyzstan relations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the article has charted the course for further development of bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and closer bilateral cooperation under the framework of the SCO, he said, adding that he believes Xi’s visit will promote the development of Kyrgyzstan-China ties and the SCO.Kyrgyz international relations expert Igor Shestakov regards Xi’s signed article as a “policy document” which reflects that the win-win cooperation between China and Kyrgyzstan has entered a new stage.

Xi’s policy interpretation in the article on strategic mutual trust, the alignment of development strategies, security cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in international affairs, has significant guidance for the development of bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, he added. –XINHUA