China and Uzbekistan signed on Saturday 10 agreements on closer cooperation in various fields including economic and technology, public health, finance, transportation, water supply and environmental protection.

Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyaev attended the signing ceremony after talks on bilateral relations and other regional and international issues of common concern.

During their talks, Wen highlighted the recent positive development of bilateral relations, saying China regards Uzbekistan as an important partner in Central Asia.

"China highly values its ties with Uzbekistan and will endeavor to boost bilateral cooperation based on the principles of equality, mutual trust, mutual benefit and common development", Wen noted.

Wen also called on both sides to step up economic and trade cooperation, to expand two-way trade, increase mutual investment and explore possibilities of further cooperation and coordination in multilateral organizations.

"China will expand its import of cotton from Uzbekistan, grant the country the tourist destination status and support its efforts to join the World Trade Organization at an early date," Wen said.

Both leaders also discussed on the financing projects under the framework of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank.

For his part, Mirziyaev said Uzbekistan attaches great importance to its relations with China, which serve not only the fundamental interests of both peoples, but also regional peace and stability.

Uzbekistan will continue to stick to the one-China policy and firmly back China on the Taiwan and Tibet issues, Mirziyaev said, pledging to further cooperate with China on law enforcement and security matters and jointly combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism.

The Uzbek prime minister also hoped to foster cooperation with China in the fields of trade, agriculture, energy, and chemical industry and welcome Chinese entrepreneurs to establish businesses in his country.

Wen and Mirziyaev also exchanged views on bilateral cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

At the invitation of Mirziyaev, Wen arrived in Tashkent Friday afternoon on his two-day official visit to Uzbekistan.

Wen also attended the sixth Meeting of Prime Ministers of SCO member states in the Uzbek capital.