"To give husband - to give life"

Recently, Chinese-language banners and advertisements have been popping up in Tashkent. This situation is causing discussions on social networks. In recent days, rumors have also spread that the Chinese are buying up a lot of land in Tashkent. On March 6, the Cadastre Agency issued a statement calling these rumors groundless.

Economist Otabek Bakirov reacted to the Cadastre Agency's attempts to calm the public in this situation by saying, "Giving land is giving life." He stressed that, putting aside various speculations, it is necessary to correctly understand the concerns associated with allocating land to foreigners.

“Of course, the Land Code stipulates that foreign citizens and legal entities, stateless persons, and enterprises with foreign investment can own land plots only on a lease basis.

At the same time, in the increasingly complex global realities, in the wave of threats that create new and new challenges, it is necessary to understand that this criterion is not enough. It is also becoming increasingly difficult for the public mood to accept it.

In this sense, in the next stages of the Land Reform, which began in 2021, it is necessary to introduce rules that stipulate that if the applicant for a land plot is an enterprise with foreign investment, at least 51 percent of it must belong directly or indirectly to citizens of Uzbekistan, as well as sharply restrict the right to lease land plots by foreign legal entities and foreign citizens,” Bakirov wrote.

He noted that in a number of countries, strict rules regarding foreigners in relation to land exist and are a national consensus. Concerns that the land debate could negatively affect the investment climate are unfounded, the economist says.

“Because a healthy investor who comes to Uzbekistan comes primarily to profit from his investments, and not to become a landowner or to have a land portfolio. In addition, dozens of other factors are worsening the investment climate (not only for foreign investors, but also for Uzbeks), which would be more appropriate to worry about,” he wrote.

Gold mines and enterprises

Earlier in February of this year, we reported that 31 subsoil plots in the Navoi region were sold for 25.1 billion soums through an electronic auction for the extraction of precious metals by prospectors. Among those investing in gold prospecting in Navoi are many Chinese. Most of the 12 companies that received the right to develop the 31 gold fields put up for sale have at least one Chinese among their founders.

The Subsoil Use Center issued a statement to the public stating that concerns about the sale of 31 mines in Navoi to the Chinese were unfounded. The center stated that among the enterprises that invested in the gold fields, there was not a single enterprise that was fully owned by Chinese citizens.

Later, the Chinese held a rally in the Magic City park in Tashkent, raising various flags, which raised questions in the public. The Ministry of Internal Affairs denied that this was a rally, stating that it was a collective running event by Huawei employees. In its statement, the ministry called this event “an event that our departments and organizations should follow as an example.”

As of February 1, 2025, China took first place in the number of companies with foreign capital in Uzbekistan. Over the past year, the number of Chinese companies in Uzbekistan has increased by almost 43 percent, reaching 3,467. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”