Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan from Wednesday to Sunday. During the visits, President Xi will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. The Chinese leader will also attend the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe. Before the visit, Kyrgyzstan media have published a signed letter by President Xi. In the letter, Xi says he looks forward to flourishing and enduring bilateral ties.  Zheng Yibing has the details.

"May the China-Kyrgyzstan Friendship Thrive Like an Evergreen Tree." That's the wish the Chinese president expresses in his letter published on Tuesday before his visit to the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek and a meeting there with leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. 

Xi praises the long tradition of friendship between China and Kyrgyzstan and their unbreakable bond of friendship forged since the establishment of diplomatic ties. 

In the letter, the Chinese leader says he is happy with how bilateral ties have grown from a strategic partnership into a comprehensive strategic partnership. And, he calls for stronger mutual political trust deepening results-oriented cooperation strengthening security collaboration closer people-to-people exchanges as well as stepping up international cooperation.

Kyrgyzstan was one of the earliest supporters and participants of Belt and Road cooperation. China has become the central Asian country's top trading partner and source of investment. Bilateral trade exceeded US$5.6 billion in 2018, a 150-fold increase from the early days of diplomatic engagement. Cumulative Chinese investment in Kyrgyzstan is approaching US$3 billion. In 2018, more than 70,000 people traveled between the two countries and over 4,600 Kyrgyz students were studying in China.

President Xi also praised the role of the SCO in maintaining regional stability and prosperity over the past 18 years, since its inception. Xi also calls for deeper collaboration among SCO members for a closer SCO community with a shared future.

ZHENG YIBING BEIJING "For the upcoming SCO summit in Bishkek, the Chinese president says that with the collective efforts of all sides, it will produce fruitful results, bring about the greater development of the SCO, and deliver even more benefits to the people across the region. Zheng Yibing, CGTN, Beijing."