While the U.S., Russia and Europe are trying to quell (or aggravate) crises simultaneously in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Israel/Gaza, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea/Yemen, Uzbekistan and China have quietly elevated their partnership.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made a state visit to China on Jan. 23-25, visiting Beijing and Shenzen. While there he met with China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

The meeting between the Uzbek and Chinese delegations produced numerous announcements and agreements, but the most notable may be their upgrading of the Uzbekistan-China relationship to an "all-weather" comprehensive strategic partnership. This is significant, as Pakistan, the linchpin of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is the only other country in the region so designated. (CPEC is the largest single piece of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.)

Beijing has thus signaled its expectations in Central Asia, and the two “all weather” partnerships position it on two sides of Afghanistan, a potential source of natural resources (and instability) and a transit corridor between Central and South Asia.

The visit was also significant as Xi invested something else in the bilateral relationship: his time and attention.

This was Mirziyoyev’s second state visit to China — the first was in 2017 — and Xi made a state visit to Uzbekistan to 2022. Xi has visited every one of the Central Asia republics and has been to Kazakhstan four times and Uzbekistan three times; no U.S. president has ever visited the region. (Mirziyoyev did meet then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 in Washington, D.C., and President Joe Biden met the five presidents of the Central Asian republics in........

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