BISHKEK, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- A long red carpet stretched across the tarmac at the Manas International Airport on Sunday, with flags fluttering in the breeze. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his wife had arrived early, waiting to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Bishkek for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2026 and a state visit to Kyrgyzstan upon the invitation of President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, Aug. 30, 2026. Upon the arrival, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his wife Aigul Japarova welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the Manas International Airport. (Photo: Xinhua)
As Xi and Peng stepped down the aircraft stairs, the two heads of state greeted each other with a firm handshake.
"You are family," Japarov told Xi. "When you come to Kyrgyzstan, you are coming home."
Xi landed in Bishkek on Sunday for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2026 and a state visit to Kyrgyzstan.
The welcome was steeped in local tradition. Young Kyrgyz women presented Xi and Peng with traditional pastries and honey, greeting the distinguished guests with a time-honored Kyrgyz custom.
In a written speech delivered upon his arrival, Xi said that China and Kyrgyzstan share a time-honored traditional friendship, and the majestic Tianshan Mountains stand as witnesses to the millennia of friendly exchanges between their peoples.
Xi said that during the visit he will have in-depth exchanges of views with Japarov on China-Kyrgyzstan relations, cooperation in various fields between the two countries, and international and regional issues of common concern, and draw a new blueprint for building a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future.
Connected by mountains and rivers, and closely bound by shared interests, China and Kyrgyzstan have stood together through the years, supporting each other and achieving success together.
This is Xi's third visit to Kyrgyzstan. In September 2013, Xi made his first state visit to Kyrgyzstan, when the two countries announced the establishment of a strategic partnership. Over the past decade and more, China-Kyrgyzstan relations have made a historic journey, advancing from a strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era.
Old friends keep in touch. Last year alone, Xi met with Japarov three times. The two leaders reached important consensus on further deepening the China-Kyrgyzstan comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era and building a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future defined by good-neighborliness, friendship and shared prosperity, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations.
As the two couples walked together along the red carpet, taking in a series of traditional Kyrgyz cultural displays, including performances featuring traditional musical instruments, falcons and hounds, as well as a formation of traditional warriors, horsemen and yurts, Japarov took the time to explain each display to Xi.
Inside the airport VIP lounge, Kyrgyz children and young people sang Chinese songs in Mandarin for the visiting guests, offering their own heartfelt welcome. Among the welcoming crowd was a 19-year-old university student named Sadat, who said she was excited to see Xi and hoped he would have a smooth and memorable visit.
The songs, the traditional performances and the smiles along the red carpet all spoke to the warmth between the two peoples -- a friendship with deep roots that continues to flourish through frequent exchanges and close ties.