China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement on a new railway project to connect the three nations that Chinese President Xi Jinping called "strategic" for his country and Central Asia. Officials from the three countries signed the agreement in Beijing on June 6. In a sign of the importance of the project, Xi, and his Kyrgyz and Uzbek counterparts, Sadyr Japarov and Shavkat Mirziyoev, took part in the signing ceremony via video link. They stressed the project’s importance for the China-initiated Belt and Road initiative, which aims to connect Chinese markets with Europe. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, China Sign Agreement On Railway Project
An experimental block train is launched along the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan transport corridor in Lanzhou last year.