Kyrgyz President Pays First Official Visit To China

Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov (left) walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 6.

Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov is making his first official trip to China since taking office in November 2017.

The Kyrgyz presidential website said that Jeenbekov would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 6 to discuss bilateral ties, including political, trade, and economic cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

Chinese authorities said last week the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Iran were also expected to pay official visits to Beijing this week before taking part in a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the eastern city of Qingdao on June 9-10.

China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan established the SCO -- a Eurasian political, economic, and security grouping -- in the early 2000s. India and Pakistan joined in 2017, and Iran has expressed hopes of joining.

It is not clear if leaders of other member-states are scheduled to come.