Digital Economy and Innovation: A New Stage of Uzbekistan–China Cooperation

Since gaining independence, and particularly over the past eight years, Uzbekistan has paid special attention to building equal partnerships with all countries of the world, adopting modern trends, and integrating them into various areas of public life. These efforts have contributed to the development of economic sectors and to improving the welfare of the population.

As noted by President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the development of information and communication technologies drives rapid progress across all sectors and creates significant convenience for citizens. Today, the majority of services are delivered through information technologies, while the efficiency of other sectors is also directly linked to this process. In this regard, expanding digital conditions and transforming Uzbekistan into a modern information technology hub is of vital importance.

Against this backdrop, international cooperation in the field is gaining growing relevance. The Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan, as the authorized body for digitalization, ICT, digital education, telecommunications, and artificial intelligence, operates on the basis of clear objectives and plans. Alongside the United States, Russia, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan, the People’s Republic of China holds a special place.

Strengthening cooperation with China, particularly in ICT, is mutually beneficial for both sides. Currently, ICT cooperation is carried out under around ten agreements.

Active interaction has also been established in the digital economy and innovation sector. On March 29, 2025, within the framework of the AlmatyFair.ai Artificial Intelligence Exhibition in Almaty, a trilateral memorandum was signed between Uzbekistan’s IT Park, Kazakhstan’s “Astana Hub”, and China’s “Growth Vision Pro Ltd.” The document envisages support for startups, attraction of investment into China’s IT market, and expansion of regional capital inflows.

The cooperation program foresees the development of acceleration programs, organization of business missions, engagement with investors, and enhancement of research and development (R&D) initiatives.

In addition, together with “BYD Auto Industry Company”, cloud services for vehicles supplied to Uzbekistan’s market have been introduced.

Postal services represent another important area of cooperation. The national operator “Uzbekiston Pochtasi” JSC works actively with the Chinese postal operator.

In the first half of 2025 alone, the total weight of incoming and outgoing correspondence between Uzbekistan and China reached 3,085 kg, with 6,014 registered letters. At the same time, bilateral negotiations with the Chinese postal operator are underway on delivery of goods purchased from online stores.

“Uzbekiston Pochtasi” JSC also accepts, processes, and delivers goods ordered from Chinese marketplaces such as “AliExpress”, “Temu”, and “Shein”. Such shipments are received in Uzbekistan through designated operators in China, Latvia, and Vanuatu, with delivery carried out under contracts between “Uzbekiston Pochtasi” JSC and international logistics companies. As a result, within six months of 2025, the operator delivered more than 226 tons of postal items. New areas of cooperation with “China Post” are currently under discussion.

Educational ties also hold significant importance for the future of both countries. Young people trained to international standards represent the foundation of tomorrow.

In this regard, in 2023, the Tashkent University of Information Technologies (TUIT) named after Muhammad al-Khwarizmi signed bilateral memoranda with “Xi’an University”, “Northwestern Polytechnical University”, the “China Institute of Communications”, and “ZTE University” on human resource development and academic exchange programs.

Furthermore, in cooperation with “Huawei” and “ZTE”, the “Digital Education Lab” was established at TUIT and at the “Huawei Academy of Information and Network Technologies”. Under the educational program “Seeds for the Future”, more than 50 students completed internships at “Huawei’s” headquarters in China.

Uzbekistan is also seeking partners in China to implement palm vein recognition technology. Cooperation has been established with “Hubei Yi Chen Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd.” At this stage, discussions are ongoing with “Shengdian Century Technology Co. Ltd.” on the development and commercialization of “MyID Palm” hardware-software systems.

The work undertaken in ICT cooperation between the two countries raises the question of the current status of collaboration.

On January 24–25, 2024, within the framework of the Uzbekistan–China Business Forum in Xi’an, companies of the two countries signed 12 contracts worth over USD 1 billion. These agreements target the development of telecommunication infrastructure and mobile communication networks for 2024–2028.

From November 18 to 23, 2024, during a visit to Shanghai, a delegation from Uzbekistan held meetings with Pan Huang and Chen Zhe, senior officials of the “China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT)” and the “China Telecommunication Technology Labs (CTTL)”. During the talks, issues of cooperation were discussed, a draft memorandum was prepared, and an agreement was reached to sign an official memorandum with “CAICT”.

At present, Uzbekistan and China—one of the world’s most advanced nations—are determined to steadily continue mutually beneficial cooperation in digitalization, ICT, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, postal services, and digital education.