TASHKENT -- As an important partner of the Belt and Road Initiative, Uzbekistan has been actively promoting pragmatic cooperation with China. With bilateral ties elevated to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era, agricultural cooperation between China and Uzbekistan is opening up new opportunities and driving economic and trade growth.

A modern agricultural demonstration park located in Uzbekistan's Syrdarya region showcased how such agricultural cooperation between the two countries has facilitated the exchange of advanced farming technologies and the trade of agricultural produce.

The China-Uzbekistan Modern Agricultural Science and Technology Demonstration Park of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Demonstration Base for Agricultural Technology Exchange and Training was constructed in 2021 under the joint efforts of Yangling Modern Agriculture International Cooperation Co., Ltd. and Pengsheng Industrial Park and became officially operational in October of the same year.

Chen Bing, deputy general manager of the company, said that the park facilitates the overseas incubation of agricultural projects, promotes the export of new crop varieties, new technologies and agricultural machinery, and enables the import of products from the park back to China.

He said the park also supports the development of cross-border planting, providing domestic agricultural enterprises with a platform for technological demonstration, trade exchanges, and capacity cooperation.

The park covers an area of 233 hectares, including 7.2 hectares of modern agricultural greenhouses, 66.7 hectares of drip-irrigated grape demonstration field, and 84 hectares of new crops trial demonstration field. Apart from that, the park promotes advanced irrigation technologies for locals.

Omon Uzbekov, a 53-year-old cotton farmer, told Xinhua that he has been growing cotton for many years and has chosen to work in the park since its establishment.

"I use the drip irrigation technology to water the cotton, delivering water directly to the roots. Compared to local practices, this method has greatly reduced irrigation time, saving both water and lots of unnecessary effort. Since I started working here, my income has doubled," he said.

Qiao Wen, deputy manager of Yangling Modern Agriculture International Cooperation Co., Ltd. (Uzbekistan), said that the park has also introduced high-quality seedlings from China for trial cultivation in areas with suitable climate and soil conditions.

Recently, 6,000 high-quality apple seedlings from Shaanxi province have been successfully planted in the park.

Jorabek Shakarbekov, a 29-year-old apple farmer, said that Uzbekistan is an important apple producer in Central Asia with its favorable climate and soil conditions. However, due to limitations in technology and varieties, local apple yields have met challenges.

"The quality of the apple seedlings exported from China is excellent, and we have planted 6,000 apple trees of 11 high-quality varieties. In the future, we plan to expand the planting area and hire more people," Shakarbekov said.

"Because of the new apple seedlings, new jobs have been created and our income has also increased," he added.

In December 2022, the Trade Center of the SCO Demonstration Base for Agricultural Technology Exchange and Training (Shaanxi, China) was established in Tashkent. Agricultural products from the park will be sold through this center, creating a local production and sales chain in Uzbekistan.

"I am very pleased to work with my Chinese colleagues, from whom I can learn new knowledge and technologies. I have high hopes and am very confident for my future," Shakarbekov said.