With Putin set to grace Xi’s Belt and Road Forum, the relationship shows that cooperation, not politically motivated hectoring, is the way forward in international relations.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s re-election gave him a seven-year term and showed his programme of reform will continue for the foreseeable future. This has brought Uzbekistan expanded economic cooperation with China, which is looking for stable partnerships in the region.
Political and strategic security concerns are vital, but without well-established economic cooperation, the bilateral strategic partnership can struggle. Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow signalled that companies are encouraged to seize the business opportunities the new economic and geopolitical reality has created.