Premier Li Keqiang met with Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov, who was attending the 2016 Summer Davos Forum in the northern coastal city of Tianjin, on June 27.

At the start of the meeting, Premier Li expressed his condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Kyrgyzstan earlier this month. He said that China and Kyrgyzstan are good neighbors and strategic partners, and the bilateral ties maintain a strong momentum.

Premier Li Keqiang meets with Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov in Tianjin on June 27.

Top leaders of both countries also had a successful meeting in Tashkent earlier, said the Premier.

China will firmly support Kyrgyzstan’s development path, and is willing to work with the Kyrgyz side to promote friendly ties and cooperation and jointly safeguard regional security and stability, said Premier Li.

He said that economies of China and Kyrgyzstan can complement each other with great development potential and bright cooperation prospects.

Both sides should further expand cooperation channels, improve cooperation levels, and optimize trade structures, said the Premier.

He also said that China is glad to expand its cooperation with Kyrgyzstan in production capacity and investment, jointly promote the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, Bishkek provincial road network repairs and the D-line of China-Central Asia Natural Gas Pipeline.

Premier Li called for the two countries to enhance cooperation on law enforcement, deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges in tourism, education, Chinese teaching, joint archaeology, and for young people to further increase mutual understanding and consolidate friendship.

As Kyrgyzstan will hold the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Prime Ministers’ Meeting this year, the Premier stressed that China is glad to cooperate with Kyrgyzstan under the framework of SCO, boost the One Belt and Road Initiative, connect the development strategies of related countries, and promote building the SCO and pragmatic cooperation among its member countries.

Jeenbekov thanked the Premier for his thoughts on the earthquake, and expressed his own condolences to the tornado disaster in China’s Jiangsu province last week.

He said the Davos forum in Tianjin was very successful, showing China’s leading role in the global economic recovery and development.

China is Kyrgyzstan’s strategic partner and a priority in its diplomacy, said Jeenbekov.

He hailed the mutual support in politics and smooth pragmatic cooperation between the two sides.

He said that his country is willing to enhance production capacity cooperation with China, implement the construction of big projects and lift the bilateral friendly ties to a new level. He said he expects Premier Li’s attendance at this year’s SCO prime ministers’ meeting and an official visit to his country, and hopes they will discuss the China-Kyrgyzstan and China-Central Asia cooperation.

State Councilor and Secretary General Yang Jing also attended the meeting.