Background

Uzbekistan, the SCO summit host this year

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-09 14:45

BEIJING --?Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Tashkent Wednesday, starting his state visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan. He will also attend the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tashkent.

The following are some basic facts about Uzbekistan.

Located in Central Asia, Uzbekistan covers an area of 447,400 square kilometers and borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Tashkent, lying on the banks of the Chirchik River, serves as the country's capital.

Uzbekistan has a population of 27.6 million, consisting of more than 130 ethnic groups. Among its population, 78.8 percent are Uzbeks. The residents are mostly Muslims and some are Orthodox. The official language is Uzbek while Russian is used universally.

Uzbekistan has a glorious history. In the middle of the 14th century, the Tamerlane Dynasty built up a powerful empire, with its capital Samarkand now becoming the second largest Uzbek city and one of the world's most renowned cultural centers.

Uzbekistan abounds in natural resources. Its gold reserves rank fourth in the world, while its verified oil and gas resources total 584 million tons and 2.06 trillion cubic meters respectively. Energy, metallurgy and machine-building are the country's main industrial sectors. Its agriculture mainly produces cotton, rice and melons.

China and Uzbekistan established diplomatic ties in January 1992. Since then, bilateral relations have been developing smoothly with frequent high-level exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

Although affected by the impact of the global financial crisis, the bilateral trade volume stood at US$1.91 billion in 2009, surging 18.9 percent from the previous year.