Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Uzcharmsanoat Association held a meeting with investors from the People’s Republic of China. The focus is on the implementation of a large-scale investment project in Uzbekistan with the participation of Chinese capital.

The foundation of the current construction of a large-scale investment project was laid on 17 May in the ancient capital of the People’s Republic of China, the city of Xi’an, where, as part of the state visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev hosted an Uzbek-Chinese business forum. More than 400 large Chinese companies, including those operating in the leather and footwear industry, took part in it then. The result of the meeting of business circles was the signing of a memorandum of cooperation in the leather and footwear industry. And so, less than a month later, the partners moved on to the practical side of implementing the agreements reached.

At the next meeting, the parties discussed the creation in Yukorichirchik district of Tashkent region on the territory of 60 hectares of the Chinese industrial zone in the leather and footwear industry. The project stipulates the production of famous Chinese shoe brands on this territory. A training center for training qualified personnel for shoe factories and a laboratory for studying the quality and certification of products will also be located here.

The shoe industry in China is one of the most developed in the world. About 15 billion pairs of shoes are produced annually in the Celestial Empire, and it is this country that accounts for one third of the world’s shoe exports. At the same time, China is also a major importer of shoes, mainly from Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh, where labor costs are 2-5 times lower than in China. Now China is aimed at developing cooperation with Uzbekistan. Moreover, the country is already familiar with the quality of products of the Uzbek leather industry. Uzbekistan is among the main suppliers of processed and semi-processed leather.

The next stage will be the placement of the largest Chinese shoe factories in Uzbekistan. The Tashkent region has been chosen to accommodate production facilities, and negotiations are underway to allocate land for the construction of factories.

In July-August, it is planned to organize a business mission of the Uzcharmsanoat Association, enterprises and the khokimiyat of the Tashkent region in the province of China, where the shoe industry is concentrated. The goal is to attract more manufacturers of branded shoes to the created industrial zones.

The agreements reached that day were sealed with bilateral signatures - the memorandum of cooperation received legal force.