The journalist asked the president about the growing number of Chinese citizens in Kyrgyzstan. He noted that about 10 years ago, the quota for foreign workers stood at 13,000, at least 80 percent of whom were Chinese citizens, while this year the quota for foreign labor increased to 100,000. Ali Toktakunov asked whether public concern was related to the growing number of Chinese citizens.

Sadyr Japarov responded that citizens of not only China but also other countries work in Kyrgyzstan, as do Kyrgyz citizens themselves.

«Not only Chinese citizens, there are people from other countries as well. Kyrgyzstanis are also working. Kyrgyz citizens who are willing to do hard work are working too,» the president said.

In his view, the issue of China is being exploited by «certain external forces,» as well as domestic forces that oppose individual projects.

He urged people to consider the benefits Kyrgyzstan receives from cooperation with China. As an example, the president cited the waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek.

«What harm have we seen from China? Take the waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, for example. For a hundred years, if I’m not mistaken, haven’t we been living with smoke since the city was founded? Now we are getting rid of this smoke, getting rid of waste, and also generating energy,» he said.

Sadyr Japarov noted that Kyrgyzstan would not have been able to build such a facility on its own.

«Could we have built it ourselves? Could you install even a single pipe? — he asked the journalist. — We cannot; we don’t even know how its system works.»

According to the president, 550 Chinese specialists came to Kyrgyzstan and built the plant. After construction was completed, almost all of them left, while five specialists remained to train Kyrgyz citizens to operate the facility.

«In six months or a year, they will leave as well. Aren’t we retaining 100 percent [of the facility] for ourselves and managing it ourselves?» Sadyr Japarov said.

The president believes Kyrgyzstan should take advantage of opportunities for cooperation with China, as many countries are seeking Chinese investment and technology.

«Every country wants to work with China, wants to receive investment from China and bring in its technologies. Yet we, being its neighbors, cannot take advantage of this,» he said.

The head of state noted that Kyrgyzstan and China have completed the delimitation of their border and have no territorial disputes.

Haven’t we fallen 100 years behind China? Let’s at least catch up with them over the next 20 years. Sadyr Japarov

Haven’t we fallen 100 years behind China? Let’s at least catch up with them over the next 20 years.

He also spoke separately about the China—Kyrgyzstan—Uzbekistan railway. According to the president, if the project is not completed, Kyrgyzstan will miss an opportunity to become a transit country.

«If the railway is not completed, every Kyrgyz citizen will regret it because we live in a landlocked country. If the railway is completed, we will become a transit country and gain access to the ocean,» he said.

Sadyr Japarov urged citizens not to succumb to such sentiments and, if they hear such calls, to «stop» those spreading them. As an example, he cited the logistics center project in At-Bashy district, which was previously opposed by local residents.

According to the president, if the logistics center had been built, 99 percent of the benefits would have gone to Kyrgyzstan. He claims the project could have created around 20,000 jobs.

«They were supposed to produce everything there — from toothpicks to electric vehicles. Because of those who created the hysteria, our people followed external forces, and we lost that plant,» Sadyr Japarov said.

In recent months, debates over the presence of Chinese citizens in Kyrgyzstan and cooperation with China have intensified. The discussions have also focused on changes to long-term land lease rules for foreign investors, Chinese-language signs, and individual cases of foreign citizens violating the law.