BISHKEK, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- China and Kyrgyzstan are good neighbors connected by mountains and rivers and partners on the path toward development and prosperity, Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Liu Jiangping has said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, bilateral relations have reached a historic high, while the China-Kyrgyzstan comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era continues to deepen and strengthen, she noted.
Liu said that political mutual trust between China and Kyrgyzstan has steadily strengthened in recent years. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov have held seven meetings since 2022, including three last year. In recent years, the heads of government and heads of legislative bodies of the two countries have exchanged visits, while deputy premiers, ministers and local government leaders have maintained active exchanges. The two countries have also established a strategic dialogue mechanism at the foreign minister level. All these have made high-level interactions more regular, institutionalized and intensive.
Liu noted that the two sides firmly support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests. China firmly supports Kyrgyzstan's efforts to safeguard national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its policies and measures aimed at ensuring political stability and promoting socioeconomic development. For its part, Kyrgyzstan firmly adheres to the one-China principle and firmly supports China's position on the Taiwan question and on issues related to Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong.
"China and Kyrgyzstan, as good neighbors, wish each other well and have created a model of good-neighborliness, friendship and mutual assistance between our countries," Liu said.
Speaking about practical cooperation, the ambassador noted that China has long been Kyrgyzstan's largest trading partner, its largest source of imports, and its largest source of foreign investment. Last year, bilateral trade reached a record high of 27.2 billion U.S. dollars, up approximately 20 percent year on year. Trade between China and Kyrgyzstan accounted for a quarter of China's total trade with Central Asian countries.
"Kyrgyzstan was one of the first countries to support and actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative. The high-quality Belt and Road cooperation of the two countries has yielded fruitful outcomes. Major cooperation projects, including the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and the Barskoon-Bedel highway, are advancing rapidly. The Bishkek road network reconstruction project, the new North-South Highway and the Datka-Kemin power transmission line have significantly improved Kyrgyzstan's infrastructure. Aid projects, including a hospital in Osh, have also been implemented, continuing to benefit the local population," Liu said.
Bilateral cooperation in clean energy, modern agriculture and digital economy also continues to expand, she said, adding that a waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek and a 100-MW solar power plant in the Chui region have begun supplying electricity to the grid, injecting new impetus into Kyrgyzstan's green transition.
The ambassador further said that people-to-people exchanges between the two countries in the fields of education, culture, healthcare and youth are constantly increasing. Chinese volunteer medical teams have provided free cataract surgeries and restored sight for over 1,400 cataract patients, and provided free medical care to nearly 20 children with congenital heart defects in Kyrgyzstan.
She also noted that four Confucius Institutes, established through the joint efforts of both sides, have become important platforms for Kyrgyz students to learn Chinese, while the Luban Workshop trains highly skilled technical professionals to contribute to Kyrgyzstan's development and construction. The Chinese Cultural Center in Bishkek has opened, while the large-scale cultural project Happy Chinese New Year in Bishkek has been widely welcomed. The two sides have also strengthened cooperation in joint archaeological research, mutual translations of literary works, mutual screenings of films and TV dramas, and cultural and artistic performances.
"In recent years, exchanges between people from all sectors of the two countries have reached unprecedented breadth and depth. The people of the two countries have been visiting each other frequently, like relatives, further strengthening the public support for China-Kyrgyzstan relations," the ambassador noted.
The continuous strengthening of cooperation between China and Kyrgyzstan under multilateral mechanisms contributes to improving global governance, she said. China and Kyrgyzstan hold similar positions on multiple major international and regional issues and have maintained close coordination and cooperation within frameworks such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the China-Central Asia Mechanism.
"China sincerely congratulates Kyrgyzstan on its election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. China fully supports Kyrgyzstan's work as the rotating chair of the SCO, and supports Kyrgyzstan in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs. Kyrgyzstan fully supports the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity and the four global initiatives proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping," she said.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the SCO. "China and Kyrgyzstan, as founding countries of the SCO, have consistently been practitioners of the 'Shanghai Spirit' and important driving forces behind the SCO's development," Liu said, adding that over the past 25 years, China and Kyrgyzstan have closely cooperated within the SCO, safeguarding common interests and jointly promoting the development and strengthening of the organization.
"I am confident that under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state and the joint efforts of the peoples of China and Kyrgyzstan, the friendship between our countries will be passed down from generation to generation, China and Kyrgyzstan will certainly achieve joint development and prosperity, and the China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future awaits an even brighter future," she said. ■