A signed article by Chinese President Xi Jinping was published in the Slovo Kyrgyzstana newspaper and Kabar National News Agency on Friday under the title "Jointly Opening up New Prospects for the High-Quality Development of China-Kyrgyzstan Relations" ahead of his state visit to Kyrgyzstan, where he will also attend the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit. 

Following is the full text of the article:

Jointly Opening up New Prospects for the High-Quality Development of China-Kyrgyzstan Relations

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China

Early autumn brings clear skies and crisp air. In this season of harvest, I will pay a state visit to Kyrgyzstan and attend the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at the invitation of President Sadyr Zhaparov. It will be my third visit to this beautiful land. I look forward to working with President Zhaparov to map out a new blueprint for China-Kyrgyzstan relations and make new progress in building an SCO community with a shared future.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's independence. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I extend sincere congratulations and best wishes to the friendly people of Kyrgyzstan. We are truly delighted to see our friendly neighbor enjoy sustained political stability, economic growth, and social harmony.

China and Kyrgyzstan are good neighbors sharing weal and woe, good partners with a shared future, and good friends who help each other succeed. Our two countries share a long history of exchanges. The ancient Silk Road is a testimony to the long-standing friendship between the two peoples. In both countries, the stories of historical figures such as Zhang Qian, Xuanzang and Li Bai—who had contributed to civilizational exchanges between China and Kyrgyzstan—are still widely told.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, our two countries have always upheld mutual respect, good-neighborliness, mutual learning, and mutual benefit, and steadily deepened mutual trust and cooperation. Having stood the test of changing international circumstances, our bilateral ties have made historic leaps from good-neighborly relations to strategic partnership, and then to comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era, gaining fresh dynamism with each stage of development.

In February 2025, President Zhaparov and I reached important common understandings on further deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era and building a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future defined by good-neighborliness, friendship and shared prosperity. The decision opened a new chapter of bilateral relations.

—With mutual trust as our bedrock, we have given each other firm support. Both sides have consistently backed each other in safeguarding sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, and in adopting policies and measures for national development, thus setting a fine example of good-neighborliness and mutual success for neighboring countries. President Zhaparov and I met three times last year, and we have developed deep trust in each other, both professionally and personally. Together, we are steering China-Kyrgyzstan ties toward greater progress.

—With mutual benefit as our driving force, we have delivered real benefits to our people. China and Kyrgyzstan have complementary economies and immense cooperation potential. Despite sluggish global growth, our business cooperation has continued to make steady progress. China has been Kyrgyzstan's largest trading partner and largest source of foreign investment for many years running. Chinese smart phones and electric vehicles have become trendy choices for Kyrgyz consumers, while more and more quality Kyrgyz farm products are making their way into Chinese kitchens. The two sides have worked together on a number of projects that deliver long-term benefits and real improvements to the lives of local communities. Construction on the Kyrgyz section of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway is advancing in full swing, the Bedel checkpoint has been temporarily opened prior to full operation, and direct flights between our two countries are growing. In short, a multimodal connectivity network is increasingly taking shape.

—With heart-to-heart communication as our bridge, we have kept up vibrant exchanges and mutual learning. China has set up one Luban Workshop, four Confucius Institutes, and 21 Confucius Classrooms in Kyrgyzstan, making it easier for local people to acquire vocational skills and learn Chinese. China's "Brightness Journey of Lifeline Express" for cataract patients and traditional Chinese medicine center have brought the benefits of bilateral medical and health cooperation to more people in Kyrgyzstan. The two sides have signed an agreement to set up cultural centers in each other's countries, held cultural days, film festivals, and art festivals, and worked together to protect and promote world intangible cultural heritage like the Manas epic, bringing the charm of each culture closer to the other's people. Two-way visits exceeded 400,000 last year, and 30 pairs of sister provinces and cities enjoy close ties, cementing the foundation for lasting friendship.

—With justice on our side, we have jointly navigated risks and challenges. Linked by mountains and rivers and bound by shared security, China and Kyrgyzstan are staunch defenders of regional security and stability. As founding members of the SCO as well as Global South countries, we share similar positions on upholding international fairness and justice and promoting open, inclusive development. Amid changing and volatile international and regional landscapes, we coordinate closely in multilateral frameworks, actively support each other's major initiatives, and jointly advance an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the launch of China's 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. Under the strong leadership of the CPC, the Chinese people are striding forward confidently and resolutely toward the ambitious goal of building a great modern socialist country in all respects and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The people of Kyrgyzstan are implementing the country's National Development Program until 2030 and making all-out efforts to build a "New Kyrgyzstan." At this new starting point, the two sides should make steady progress toward building the China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future to bring more benefits to the two peoples and contribute even more to regional and world peace, stability, and prosperity.

We need to solidify good-neighborliness and friendship. The Chinese people like to say that good neighbors wish each other well, just as loved ones do. China and Kyrgyzstan should always support each other's development, maintain the sound momentum of high-level exchanges and multitiered cooperation, better synergize development strategies, and deepen experience sharing on governance, to provide a solid foundation for each other's development and revitalization. China will continue to do its best to support Kyrgyzstan in growing its economy and improving people's lives.

We need to pursue mutual benefit and win-win results. This is essential for the enduring vitality of our cooperation. We should take a long-term view, focus on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and continuously upgrade practical cooperation. While strengthening existing cooperation in trade and investment, connectivity, and green mining, we should also cooperate in the digital economy, clean energy, artificial intelligence, and other emerging fields. We need to move forward with building the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, accelerate the revamping of land ports, and advance institutional connectivity alongside physical connectivity to facilitate the smooth flow of people and goods.

We need to carry forward the traditional friendship. Our long-standing friendship is an invaluable asset. We should step up exchanges and cooperation in culture, tourism, art, media, think tank, youth, archaeology, and health to forge closer bonds. We should encourage our young people to study in each other's countries and support more substantive outcomes from subnational exchanges. We need to spread the stories of our friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation to cement the foundation of people-to-people goodwill.

We need to practice multilateralism. Kyrgyzstan's historic election as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council is a cause for celebration. It presents us with an opportunity to enhance coordination across the UN, firmly uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, act on the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and China's four global initiatives, unequivocally oppose hegemonism, unilateralism, and bloc confrontation, jointly combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism, and bring into play a more just and equitable global governance system. 

Over the past 25 years, the SCO has fostered and followed the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations, and pursuit of common development. It has pioneered a new model of regional cooperation that features partnership instead of alliance, safeguards shared security and stability, and promotes common development and prosperity. It has become a comprehensive regional organization with the widest geographical coverage, the largest population, and enormous potential. Since taking over the SCO presidency, Kyrgyzstan has carried out a great deal of productive work. China commends Kyrgyzstan's efforts in building consensus among member states and advancing practical cooperation under the theme "Together Toward Sustainable Peace, Development, and Prosperity." China is convinced that with the concerted efforts of all sides, this year's SCO summit will be a crowning success and provide fresh impetus for carrying forward the Shanghai Spirit and building an SCO community with a shared future.

Kyrgyzstan has a saying, "Drop by drop, a lake is formed." Likewise, we Chinese often say, "Without small streams, there would be no great rivers." China is ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to steadily advance our multifaceted cooperation, channel the streams of our people's goodwill into the river of our two nations' friendship, and jointly open up new prospects for the high-quality development of China-Kyrgyzstan relations.

(Cover image: People spend time at Ala-Too Square in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, September 15, 2025. /VCG)