The Sino-Uzbek Educational Forum was held on Jan 22 at Beijing International Studies University (BISU). It was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education of China and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Uzbekistan.

The Chinese-Uzbek Educational Forum held in Beijing on Jan 22.

Vice Minister of Education Chen Jie stated in his address that, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, educational cooperation has continuously achieved fruitful results.

China is willing to take the forum as an opportunity to strengthen the cooperative mechanisms with Uzbekistan, promote the establishment of a university association and enhance cooperation in areas such as talent cultivation, scientific research, digital education, language exchange and student and faculty exchanges.

Chen appreciates the cooperation between the two countries in his speech.

Komiljon Karimov, first deputy minister of higher education, science, and innovation of Uzbekistan, stressed the historical ties between China and Uzbekistan since ancient times and the close cooperation between the two countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

He mentioned that Chinese culture holds extraordinary appeal for young people in Uzbekistan, leading to a growing number of Uzbek students learning Chinese, with currently over 2,000 students studying the language.

Karimov stresses the importance of ties between the two countries.

In his address, Ji Jinbiao, deputy secretary of the CPC BISU Committee and president of the university, stated that the university attaches great importance to cooperative exchanges with Uzbekistan in the field of higher education. It has established partnerships with four Uzbekistani universities or government departments.

Ji emphasizes BISU’s close relations with Uzbekistani universities.

The Beijing Declaration on Cooperation between the Universities of Uzbekistan and China was signed during the forum. It proposes establishing a mechanism for dialogue in higher education between the two countries; establish the "China-Uzbekistan University Alliance"; creating digital education partnerships; serving the strategic development of both countries under the BRI; strengthening mutual learning between the two civilizations and the friendship between the two peoples.

The signing of the declaration

In addition, a series of strategic agreements on multiple cooperative projects were also signed during the forum.

During parallel sub-forums, Chinese and Uzbekistani experts and scholars discussed educational cooperation in a variety of fields, including engineering, agriculture, IT and computer science, humanities and medical disciplines.