President Xi Jinping received a warm welcome from the government of Uzbekistan. His visit has also attracted the attention of many young Uzbek students who are eager to learn Chinese.

For young Uzbek students, learning Chinese means opening a new door to the future.

Ali Sadikov is 23 years old and fluent in Chinese. He is a senior at Uzbek Eastern Language Institute in a Tashkent college doing Chinese studies. His father opened a factory with business partners in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and with the visit from Chinese leaders and the deepening ties between the two countries, the factory is doing better and better.

Ali at first just liked the Chinese language, but now he has a bigger goal.

"I am now a senior in college. I plan to go to China for postgraduate studies," said Ali.

In 2005, China opened its first Confucius Institutein the Uzbek capital Tashkent in Central Asia, and a second is expected to open in the country very soon.

China is offering 120 scholarships to Uzbekistan this year, and a growing number of schools and institutes in Uzbekistan are teaching Chinese.

With the deepen diplomatic ties between the two countries, culture exchanges are bound to increase, and allowing more Uzbek youths to learn Chinese and maybe, visit China.

(CNTV.cn September 9, 2013)