TASHKENT — Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on May 24 the joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt should become the core of China-Uzbek cooperation.

It is agreed that China and Uzbekistan would further coordinate development strategies to make the Silk Road Economic Belt, first put forward by President Xi Jinping in September of 2013, a project that could benefit people of the two countries and promote regional development.

Wang said tangible results have been made during the early stage of bilateral cooperation on infrastructure construction and industrial parks.

According to Wang, China-Uzbek relations have reached a new level since the establishment of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The leaders of China and Uzbekistan would make a timely decision on raising the level of bilateral ties and directing the future of cooperation, Wang said.

He added that the two countries would also enhance the cooperation under the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Wang recalled that the meeting with Uzbek President Islam Karimov on May 23 was fruitful and both sides reached broad consensus on the development of bilateral relations.