China-Central Asia ties: An Uzbek family forms close bonds with China

Editor's note: This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted a virtual summit to commemorate the special occasion. Over the past three decades, the two sides have witnessed closer cooperation in various fields and people-to-people exchanges. CGTN reporter Yang Jinghao visits an Uzbek family that has lived in China for almost 20 years. They shared the changes China has experienced in their eyes.

It's been almost 20 years since Nikita Khachaturov first came to China with his mother in 2004, when he was 14.

They initially lived in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where Khachaturov's mother, Tatyana Kulikova, worked as a piano teacher. He said life wasn't easy at the beginning due to language barriers.

"The only language I could speak was Russian. In the first two or three years, I was just experiencing everything without really understanding what was happening," said Khachaturov.

He gradually got used to his life there and spent his college years at Xinjiang University, where he developed an interest in Chinese culture such as martial arts.

Even today, he still misses the days he spent in Xinjiang, which boasts unique ethnic culture and diverse natural beauty.

"Especially food there!" he recalled. "The best part for me is there is a lot of meat over there."

In 2014, the family moved to Kunming, the provincial capital of southwest China's Yunnan, which is hailed as the "spring city" due to its agreeable weather all year round. Here he received further education in sociology at Yunnan University.

"I find a lot of new opportunities here, meet a lot of new people and see a lot of new cultural things," said Khachaturov. "It's a very special feeling here when you travel around Yunnan. Every time I go somewhere, it feels like a new place to me, a new adventure."

Nikita Khachaturov feeds black-headed gulls in downtown Kunming. Luo Caiwen/CGTN

He now runs a business helping foreigners like him launch startups, for example, providing them legal service, financial advice, and most importantly, helping them get working licenses and residence permits.

He said that Yunnan, which borders Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam and sits in the proximity of several other southeast Asian countries, offers growing business opportunities as the infrastructure continues to be improved, such as the opening of the China-Laos Railway.

Kulikova said she also enjoys her life in the city, with most of her time still spent with students.

"My students are so open to new knowledge, so hardworking. They quickly grasp the materials of any complexity and always take first place in competitions. All of these make me very happy," she said.

Both said they've witnessed profound changes in China over the past decades. For Khachaturov, what impresses him most is the poverty alleviation that has happened in recent years.

"When I just came to China, there were a lot of poor people. But then, steadily, the Chinese government moved all of them to middle class, where they can afford cars, houses, good jobs," he said, adding that the development of infrastructure like high-speed railways across the country is also applaudable.

Kulikova echoed him, adding that compared to when she just came to China, people today are all well-dressed and a lot more open-minded.

Tatyana Kulikova gives a piano lesson to her student. Luo Caiwen/CGTN

The family has settled down in Kunming, and Khachaturov sees hope on the horizon.

"I was thinking when one day we will open the borders, I may open a small Uzbekistan restaurant here to introduce people to our food, our culture and traditions," he said. "When we start to understand each other better, we can do more."

Khachaturov said like many others, his business is also impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he still remains optimistic about the future.

"A lot of countries should learn how to control the epidemic like China did. Because if you look around the world right now, nobody is doing very good except China," he said.

They expressed hope for more exchanges between China and Uzbekistan, as the Belt and Road Initiative aims to bring the two countries closer.

"I hope the peace and stability between our countries will be everlasting," said Kulikova.