China's top legislator calls for more exchanges with Kyrgyz parliament

China's top legislator Zhao Leji held talks with Kyrgyz Parliament Speaker Nurlanbek Shakiev on Friday in Beijing, calling for enhanced exchanges to deepen pragmatic cooperation.

Zhao, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said that under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders, bilateral relations have achieved leapfrog development, reaching a new high in a comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era.

China is ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation on all fronts, and jointly build a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future featuring good neighborliness and shared prosperity, said Zhao.

Zhao called on the two sides to enhance cooperation amid the severe and complicated international and regional situations, to jointly maintain the security and development interests of the two countries, adding that China will as always firmly support Kyrgyzstan in safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and development interests.

The two sides should tap deeper into the potential of cooperation in traditional areas, work to make the pie of economic and trade cooperation bigger, promote the exchanges of scientific innovation achievements, and improve connectivity, Zhao said, adding that the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway should be started as soon as possible.

Zhao said the NPC is willing to work with the Kyrgyz side to strengthen exchanges and communication between high-level members of legislatures, specialized committees and friendly groups, engage in mutual learning in foreign-related rule-of-law construction and other fields, and enhance coordination within multilateral frameworks including the China-Central Asia mechanism and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

When briefing Shakiev on the people's congress system of China, Zhao said China is willing to strengthen the exchanges of experience in democracy and the rule-of-law construction with Kyrgyzstan on the basis of mutual respect for each other's development path and political system, so as to better serve the development of their respective countries.

Noting that Kyrgyzstan and China enjoy a time-honored friendship, Shakiev said the Kyrgyz parliament is ready to enhance friendly exchanges with the NPC to make positive contributions to bilateral cooperation.