Chinese president ends Uzbekistan trip
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Chinese President Hu Jintao left the Uzbek capital of Tashkent Friday after paying a state visit to the Central Asian nation and attending a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
Hu is travelling to the Kazakh capital of Astana to continue his two-nation Central Asia trip.
During his stay in Tashkent, Hu and his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov met to discuss the current state and prospects of bilateral ties as well as international and regional issues of common concern.
The two leaders agreed during their talks to make more efforts to strengthen the friendly and cooperative partnership between China and Uzbekistan.
The two countries signed a series of ageements on economic and trade cooperation as well as other areas.
In Tashkent, Hu attended the SCO summit. The leaders of the SCO member states exchanged views on the world and regional situation, Central Asia security and stability, the international role of the SCO and its links with other multilateral organizations.
Hu delivered an important speech at the summit, calling for deepening of pragmatic cooperation among SCO members and safeguarding of peace and stability in the region.
Founded in 2001, the SCO consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran are observers.
This is Hu's second trip to the Central Asian state since he became the head of state of China in 2003. In June 2004, Hu visited Uzbekistan and attended a SCO summit in Tashkent.
