China welcomes Uzbekistan meeting on Afghanistan

China welcomes Uzbekistan's plan to host an international meeting regarding the Afghanistan issue, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said on Wednesday.

Wang made the remarks when meeting with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov in Beijing. Komilov is paying an official visit to China from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Beijing understands and supports the central Asian country playing a constructive role in promoting political reconciliation and the peaceful rebuilding process in Afghanistan, Wang said.

The upcoming international meeting in the Uzbek capital Tashkent should contribute to joint efforts in tackling the Afghanistan issue along with other cooperative mechanisms regarding the issue, particularly the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Wang said.

During the Wednesday talks, the two sides exchanged views about the upcoming SCO summit in Qingdao this June.

Both sides agreed that the summit should further promote solidarity among the member countries and push for greater development of the organization from a new starting point.

Komilov arrived in Beijing as bilateral cooperation has geared up in the past year as two-way cooperative projects proceed smoothly in areas such as oil and gas as well as hydropower.

Last year, China became the largest trade partner of Uzbekistan and has accounted for 18.4 percent of the foreign trade of the inland central Asian country.

Also, China has been the largest source of foreign investment in the country in recent years.

Last May, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid his first state visit to China after assuming office and attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

As a sign of the good relations, Mirziyoyev wrote a piece for the Uzbek language edition of President Xi Jinping's book Xi Jinping: The Governance of China.

Komilov told Wang that as the Uzbek language edition of the book has been published, the Uzbek government can draw lessons from the book when making major decisions.

Uzbekistan is ready to boost exchanges with China on experiences regarding governance and further co-build the Belt and Road, Komilov added.