Government representatives from China and Uzbekistan gathered in Tashkent on August 12 todiscuss ways to boost bilateral cooperation as regards oil and gas and energy.
The meeting was organised by the Uzbek-Chinese Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee. Itwas attended by government ministers and heads of departments and companies active in theareas of external economic relations, banking and financial, as well as oil and gas, energyand geology.
As reported in the local media, Uzbekistan and China are developing cooperation in oil, gas, petrochemical, chemical and mining industries, in the fields of transport and logistics, themanufacturing industry and telecommunications, as well as the production of electricaltechnology and modern construction materials.
China is one of Uzbekistan’s largest trade partners. The trade volume between the two countrieshas increased six times in as many years, reaching $5.2bn in 2013. The trade volumefor 2014 currently stands at $2.163bn.
The joint projects in the energy sector that Uzbekistan and China have undertaken amount to $2.8bn. Almost all of this ($2.5bn) is direct investment.
Chinese companies are involved in projects relating to the exploration and exploitation ofdeposits of hydrocarbons, uranium and other precious materials, as well as gas chemical complex in Mubarek and other high-tech industries in Uzbekistan.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/china-uzbekistan-energise-their-relations