Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The first China-Central Asia industrial and investment forum was held in the Chinese city of Qingdao, Shandong province, Dunyo news agency reported.

The event, organized by the State Development and Reform Committee of China and the administration of Shandong Province, was attended by heads of ministries and departments of China, representatives of business circles, deputy prime ministers of Central Asian countries, heads of foreign embassies and media representatives.

This forum is organized on the initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping at the online summit held on 25 January 2022 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries of Central Asia and China, aimed at enhancing the implementation of the agreements reached between these countries.

At the opening of the event, President Xi Jinping’s address to the participants was read out by Chairman of the National Development and Reform Committee He Lifen via video link.

The event was attended by the Deputy Prime Ministers of the Central Asian states, the governor of Shandong Province, the ambassadors of the Central Asian countries to China and other high-ranking Chinese officials, who spoke about the current state and prospects of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with China in various fields.

Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev took part in the event with a video message and touched upon the current development of Uzbekistan, investment and export potential, trade and economic relations between our country and China.

In particular, it was emphasized that in 2022 the trade turnover between our countries increased by 20% and reached almost US$9 billion. It was noted that today more than 2,100 enterprises operate in Uzbekistan with the participation of Chinese capital, and the total amount of Chinese investments disbursed since 2017 is about US$11 billion. Also, the attention of the participants was focused on the issues of strengthening and further developing cooperation between Uzbekistan and China in such areas as trade and industry, green investments, transport infrastructure and agriculture.

At the forum, it was announced that the parties had adopted an initiative on industrial and investment cooperation between China and Central Asia.

During the event, a number of presentations were also held on the topic "Joint construction of a common space for industrial cooperation."

The countries of Central Asia presented their trade and economic opportunities, free economic regions, investment climate, priority industries and amenities promoted by their governments.