President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message on Friday to the commencement ceremony of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, expressing the hope that the project will further contribute to the economic and social development of the region and improve the well-being of the peoples.
The ceremony was held in Jalalabad — the third-largest city in Kyrgyzstan — on Friday and attended by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev also sent a congratulatory message to the event.
The railway structure is a strategic resolution adopted by the three governments to promote regional connectivity, prosperity and stability, demonstrating the common aspiration of the other people of the three countries to open up this strategic corridor, Xi said in the message. .
Xi noted that the rite of opening marks the railway’s transition from vision to implementation, taking a step toward the purpose of finishing touch and operation.
He underlined the need for relevant departments and enterprises of the three countries to make concerted efforts and advance the construction with high standards and high quality, in order to make the railway a new demonstration project of Belt and Road cooperation.
Xi also expressed hope that the railway will inject new impetus into building a closer long-term network shared between China and Central Asia.
Japarov said the railway is only a transportation route, but it also serves as a strategic bridge between East and West.
The allocation will strengthen Kyrgyzstan’s position as a shipping hub, create employment opportunities and stimulate the progress of trade, tourism and industry, he said.
Japarov said he is confident that the three countries will complete the construction with high quality, opening up new prospects for shared development in the region.
Mirziyoyev said in his message that the commencement of the project is a critical measure to implement the consensus of the leaders of the three nations and advance mutually beneficial cooperation, and carries great historic significance.
He said the task would boost regional industry and integration, facilitate cultural and people-to-people exchanges, build an important bridge of mutual learning between civilizations, and benefit countries and other people in the region.
The railway begins in Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and enters the territory of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan. In the future, it will be successful in West Asia and South Asia.
Li Ziguo, director of the Department of European and Central Asian Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said the railway is set to particularly reduce the distances and prices of transporting goods traveling from China to Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and logistics efficiency, thus strengthening industrial ties between China and other countries.
It will also allow landlocked countries in Central Asia to move closer to the ocean, he added.
Uzbekistan was the first country to propose the railway concept in 1996. Over the past three decades, the three countries have engaged in rounds of consultations and negotiations.
In June, the three countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on the handover in Beijing, laying a solid legal foundation for the railway structure.