ALMATY -- China and Kyrgyzstan on Saturday agreed to support free trade, safeguard international rules and protect their respective legitimate rights and regional interests.

As close neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, China and Kyrgyzstan have always treated each other with trust and sincerity and are reliable and trustworthy brothers and partners, said visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting with his Kyrgyz counterpart Jeenbek Kulubaev.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, bilateral relations have developed rapidly, said Wang, noting that the two countries are working together to build a community of shared future featuring good-neighborliness and mutual prosperity.

China firmly supports Kyrgyzstan in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions, strongly opposes any external interference in Kyrgyzstan's internal affairs under any pretext, said Wang, voicing confidence that Kyrgyzstan will continue to support China's legitimate position on issues concerning its core interests.

Wang also expressed willingness to work with Kyrgyzstan to follow through on the consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain high-level exchanges, deepen strategic mutual trust, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation so as to deliver more benefits to the people of both countries and the region.

For his part, Kulubaev said that Japarov's successful visit to China in February has injected strong new momentum into Kyrgyz-Chinese relations, expressing thanks to China for its strong support for Kyrgyzstan's economic and social development.

Kyrgyzstan is willing to work with China to follow the guidance of the two heads of state, deepen the good-neighborly friendships and build a Kyrgyzstan-China community with a shared future, he said.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed key Belt and Road cooperation projects, agreed to steadily advance the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, further explore areas of common interest, enrich the content of bilateral relations and facilitate people-to-people exchanges.

Kulubaev noted that China has become Kyrgyzstan's largest trade and economic partner and that Kyrgyzstan welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest and operate in the country and is committed to providing a favorable business environment.

On tariff issues, both sides agreed that upholding multilateralism is the greatest common ground and stressed the importance of strengthening coordination and jointly addressing challenges.

They discussed enhancing cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The Kyrgyz side expressed support for China's chairmanship of the SCO and the upcoming summit to be held in northern China's Tianjin later this year.