He said his country upholds the one China policy, backs China's positions on issues concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and supports the fight against the "three evil forces."

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) and Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov holds a joint news conference after their talks in Tashkent June 9, 2010. This is Hu's second trip to the Central Asian state since he became China's head of state in 2003. [Xinhua photo]

Recent years have witnessed rapid development of Uzbekistan-China relations, Karimov said, noting that the two neighbors have consolidated the legal basis for their bilateral ties and have achieved progress in trade and other areas of cooperation.

Meanwhile, as practical cooperative mechanisms between the two countries have been in place, the two governments have signed long-term trade agreements, and preferential loans from China have promoted bilateral cooperation, he added.

Noting that great potentials remain in bilateral trade and economic cooperation, the Uzbek leader expressed the hope that the two countries will optimize the structure of bilateral trade and expand cooperation in high and new technologies and other fields.

Uzbekistan and China both boast great ancient civilizations, and the historic Silk Road have linked the two peoples, he said. The two countries should expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges to deepen friendship between the two peoples, he added.

Karimov said his country highly appreciates China's important role in tackling the global financial crisis and in solving regional and international problems.

Uzbekistan is willing to work with China to further boost bilateral relations to benefit the two peoples and promote peace and development of Central Asia, said Karimov.

Following the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of cooperation documents between the two countries. They also signed a joint statement on comprehensively deepening and developing friendly and cooperative partnership between China and Uzbekistan. After that, they met with the press.

This is Hu's second trip to the Central Asian state since he became China's head of state in 2003. In June 2004, he visited Uzbekistan and attended a SCO summit in Tashkent.

The Chinese leader will attend this year's SCO summit slated for Friday, following which he will pay a state visit to Kazakhstan.

Founded in 2001, the SCO consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran are observers of the organization.