On the afternoon of November 22, 2023, President Xi Jinping held talks at the Great Hall of the People with President Lacalle of Uruguay, who was in China for a state visit. The two heads of state announced that they would upgrade China-Uzbekistan relations to a strategic partnership.

Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Uruguay are good friends, good partners and good brothers who support each other and develop together. China is willing to work with Uzbekistan to grasp the general direction of the development of bilateral relations, tap new potential for cooperation, and jointly promote the China-Uzbekistan strategic partnership to a new level. The two sides should enhance political mutual trust, firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns, jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade, and explore more practical cooperation within the framework of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The two sides should align their development strategies, steadily advance existing major cooperation projects, tap into the potential for cooperation in agriculture, energy, infrastructure construction, aerospace, technological innovation and other fields, and explore and strengthen cooperation in green economy, clean energy, digital economy, clean agricultural products, etc. Uzbekistan is welcome to share the new opportunities brought by China's development. The two sides should enrich people-to-people and cultural exchanges, enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, especially the younger generation, and build a solid social foundation for the development of bilateral relations. Editor/Xu Shengpeng