Senate approves multilateral treaty on friendship and cooperation with China

11:262542 min

The Senate of Uzbekistan has approved a law ratifying a treaty on eternal good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation between China and the five Central Asian states, setting a long-term legal framework for cooperation in trade, investment, transport, energy and digital technologies.

Photo: Senate of the Oliy Majlis

Senate approves multilateral treaty on friendship and cooperation with China — Photo: Senate of the Oliy Majlis

The Senate approved the law at a plenary session on October 3. The treaty was signed in Astana on June 17, 2025, by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and China.

The agreement is the first multilateral international treaty signed within the China–Central Asia framework and establishes a legal basis for long-term cooperation between the Central Asian countries and China.

It calls for the development of strategic partnerships based on the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, non-use of force and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

The treaty also provides for expanded political dialogue and closer cooperation in trade, investment, transport and communications, energy, industrial cooperation, digital technologies, green development and humanitarian affairs.

According to the Senate, implementing the agreement will create new opportunities for major projects, including the construction of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, the development of transport corridors, the modernization of logistics infrastructure and the expansion of the Electronic Silk Road trade platform.