China vows to deepen friendship with Central Asian countries ASHGABAT, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The new Chinese government will continue its good-neighborly relations with Central Asian countries and further deepen strategic mutual trust and cooperation with them, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday. Wang attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting in Bishkek and paid official visits to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan on July 12-19, in preparation for President Xi Jinping's visit to the region in September. Xi's visit will be a historic event that will certainly push forward the ties between China and these three states as well as with all Central Asian states to a new stage, he said. China and Central Asian countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, are friendly neighbors since ancient times. Beijing will always support the path of development chosen by the Central Asian countries in line with their specific national conditions and endorse the measures taken by them to maintain stability and develop economy, Wang said. The Chinese foreign minister said the leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan said their countries regard China as a trustworthy friend and partner. They appreciate China's long-time assistance and highly value Beijing's huge influence in regional and international affairs as a responsible world power, Wang said. Leaders of the three countries also threw their firm support behind China to safeguard national reunification and combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, he said. Beijing is ready to unveil reciprocal cooperation with the three countries in economy and trade, energy, telecommunications among other fields. Leaders of the three states expressed willingness to expand cooperation with China in the fields of economy and trade, railway, road, mining, agriculture and tourism, Wang added. Meanwhile, China also exchanged views with other SCO members on ways to build the regional body into a community featuring common interests in politics, security and economics. With the aim to inject new vitality into the regional bloc, the Chinese side also urged the SCO members to give full play to complementary advantages of their respective economies and promote pragmatic cooperation among them while boosting efforts to safeguard regional peace and stability. The Chinese side also called for strengthened infrastructure cooperation among SCO members and enhanced efforts to promote trade and investment facilitation as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and SCO foreign ministers said they will strengthen coordination with China within the SCO framework so as to promote mutually beneficial cooperation, safeguard common security and deepen friendship among their peoples.