Full coverage: President Xi Visits 3 Nations, Attends SCO Summit

Full coverage: China’s Leaders

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Uzbekistan and attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tashkent. Ahead of the visit, CCTV interviewed Sun Lijie, the Chinese ambassador to Uzbekistan.

He said that since the establishment of a strategic partnership in 2012, both countries have enjoyed strenghtened bilateral ties, and excellent cooperation in various fields.

Sun said,"Once the initiative was brought up, it won the support of President Karimov. He thinks the initiative is of deep strategic meaning - for developing ties between China and Central Asian countries, and for promoting Central Asia's economic development."

"It's of great significance. We are looking forward, that during the visit, President Xi and President Karimov will jointly announce to lift bilateral ties to a new level, providing new momentum, new opportunities, new fields of cooperation."

"During the SCO summit, memorandums on India and Pakistan will be signed. This signals that the SCO is starting to take new members gradually, based on a consensus. This is a sign that the organization is gaining more influence, and an entry into a new development stage."