Uzbekistan and China: Strengthening Cooperation in Reviving the Silk Road Heritage

Cooperation between Uzbekistan and China has risen to the level of strategic partnership. This is largely due to the friendly relations between the leaders of the two countries and the wide-ranging cooperation directed at the interests of people from both countries.

As President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized, developing multifaceted relations with China has always been one of Uzbekistan’s top foreign policy priorities, and remains so today. Relations between our countries continue to demonstrate stable growth and are now experiencing their most exemplary period in history. This is natural: “Great civilizations with ancient histories always resemble each other, understand one another, and are spiritually close.” The cultures and values of the Uzbek and Chinese peoples are similar. Our historical ties date back to the creation of the Great Silk Road, which once provided the majority of world trade.

For centuries, the Great Silk Road began in Xi’an, passed through many countries, and reached ancient Rome, serving as a channel of economic, cultural, and intellectual exchange between peoples.

Cultural contacts between China and Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, go back to the 2nd century BCE, when the Han dynasty established diplomatic and trade relations. Goods like silk, paper, and tea went westward, while precious stones, horses, and spices flowed eastward.

Chinese papermaking technology entered the Islamic world and Europe through Central Asia. Music, dance, applied arts, pottery, and sericulture were mutually influenced. Knowledge, too, was exchanged: Central Asian scholars, mathematicians, astronomers, and physicians made a great contribution to Chinese science. Some even became prominent officials in ancient China—for example, Said Ajal from Bukhara was the first governor of Yunnan province. Avicenna’s “Canon of Medicine” and other works were translated into Chinese and influenced medical treatises like Huihui Yaofang (“Muslim Prescriptions”) and Bencao Gangmu (“Compendium of Materia Medica”).

Today, Uzbekistan and China are enhancing cultural cooperation under the “Silk Road Heritage” framework. Conferences, exhibitions, and art festivals are held between Samarkand, Bukhara, and Chinese cities. The “Belt and Road” initiative is fostering cultural diplomacy and tourism.

Over the years, bilateral ties have been institutionalized through agreements such as the 2013 Joint Declaration on Deepening Strategic Cooperation and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding. In 2023, the two countries signed a partnership program for 2023–2027.

Projects include restoring Ichan-Kala (2014–2019), joint exhibitions at the Beijing Forbidden City, and Uzbekistan Culture Days in China (2024) and vice versa. Major cultural events—like the Sharq Taronalari music festival, International Bakhshi Festival, Tashkent Biennale, and SCO film festivals—have seen active Chinese participation.

2025 was declared the “Year of Uzbekistan Tourism in China,” showcasing Uzbekistan’s cultural and tourism potential at major fairs like the Guangzhou International Tourism Exhibition.

Future plans include a 2026–2030 cultural cooperation program, Chinese grants for Uzbek professors and students, cultural weeks in both countries, and joint projects in heritage preservation, arts, and education.

In conclusion, Uzbekistan–China relations have reached a qualitatively new level, reflecting their long-term strategic partnership in full harmony with the national interests and modern demands of both peoples.

Ozodbek Nazarbekov,

Minister of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan