President Xi Jinping and his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, greet onlookers Wednesday evening at Samarkand International Airport in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Xi arrived in the city to attend the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which will start on Thursday. Photo: Ju Peng/Xinhua

Xi greets Mirziyoyev at the airport. Photo: Li Xueren/Xinhua

Mirziyoyev applauds Xi as he arrives. High-level Chinese officials including Ding Xuexiang, Yang Jiechi, Wang Yi and He Lifeng, joined the president on the flight to Samarkand. Photo: Li Xueren/Xinhua

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and other senior Kazakh officials send Xi off Wednesday from Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Photo: Yao Dawei/Xinhua

Tokayev welcomes Xi with a ceremony at the Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Nur-Sultan. Photo: Yin Bogu/Xinhua

Xi receives the Order of the Golden Eagle medal from Tokayev at the palace. Photo: Rao Aimin/Xinhua

Xi and Tokayev sign a joint statement marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between their two countries. Photo: Ding Lin/Xinhua

Tokayev and a group of senior Kazakh officials welcome Xi at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport as the Chinese president begins his state visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Yao Dawei/Xinhua