Mirzatillo Alisherovich Tillabaev (PhD in Law), is an Uzbekistani expert in human rights, international law and constitutional law. He has held posts including Ombudsman (Human Rights Commissioner) of the Parliament (Oliy Majlis) of the Republic of Uzbekistan, First Deputy Director of the National Human Rights Center, and Director of the Senior Training Center for Legal Professionals under the Ministry of Justice. Having long engaged in research on human rights, international law and constitutional law, Prof. Tillabaev has published more than 150 academic papers as well as a number of monographs, textbooks and teaching aids. Among these, his monograph Modern China and New Uzbekistan has drawn wide attention within Uzbekistan.
On June 12, 2026, a delegation of teachers and students from the Institute of Country and Region Studies of Peking University visited Prof. Tillabaev, and interviewed him on exchange and mutual learning among civilizations. Prof. Tillabaev said that both China and Uzbekistan have their own civilizational traditions, and that each country should chart its own path of reform and development on the basis of its own traditions and present circumstances. Below is the full text of the interview.
Q: Prof. Tillabaev, thank you for accepting this interview. You are originally from Andijan, a city in Fergana Valley of eastern Uzbekistan. It is also the terminus of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan Railway, one of the flagship projects under the Belt and Road Initiative that is currently under construction. What opportunities do you think this railway will bring to your hometown? Are there any challenges or risks that should be addressed?
A: First of all, let me extend my warm greetings to the delegation from Peking University. Over the past two years, I have visited China several times and had the opportunity to exchange views with many renowned professors and scholars. I have also visited a number of Chinese cities, including Shenzhen, Xi'an and Luoyang.
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is being built on the initiative of the heads of China, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and it holds great promise within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. During my visit to Xi'an, I visited the Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park, where I saw countless containers and trains. It is an important inland port linking China with Central Asia and Europe.
Uzbekistan has stood at the heart of the Silk Road for thousands of years. Cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent have long served as important commercial hubs connecting the ancient civilizations across Eurasia.
With the rise of maritime trade, however, the importance of overland routes gradually diminished somewhat. But now the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway corridor under construction will benefit the development of the entire region, not just Uzbekistan or a single city such as Andijan.
First, the railway will reduce transport time. In the past, the transportation of goods often took a long time, but the new railway will greatly improve logistics efficiency. Once it becomes operational, I believe both trade volumes and economic activity will increase substantially.
Second, the railway will create employment opportunities across a wide range of sectors, including logistics, transportation, services, infrastructure development and related industries. It will also help generate greater value along regional supply chains.
I believe this railway will benefit the entire region. In the near future we will be able to see how production and transport change, and these changes will also be reflected in the economy of the whole region, and of Uzbekistan in particular.
Q: Based on your observations and research, what would you say is China's key experience in poverty-alleviation? Have you observed specific cases of poverty-alleviation work? And which of China's poverty-alleviation concepts do you find most instructive?
A: Over the past few decades, China has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty. This achievement certainly deserves respect and serious study.
In Uzbekistan, President Xi Jinping's book Up and Out of Poverty has been translated and published, with a large-scale launch event held for it. Last year, we also translated Excerpts from Xi Jinping's Discourses on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights into Uzbek language. These experiences have been of great help to us.
When it comes to poverty-alleviation, the first thing I'd point to is China's "one village, one product" concept, which I find very valuable. I saw mushroom production in Xi'an with my own eyes. In Uzbekistan, on the initiative of the president, many regions facing employment challenges have also begun adopting a similar approach, developing their own "one village, one product" concept. I believe this approach has great potential.
Second is social support and the provision of loans. Like China, Uzbekistan provides preferential loans to low-income families. This helps create employment opportunities while also improving people's living standards.
Third is youth. Uzbekistan is a young country, and this is our most important asset. The average age of our population is about 28 to 29. This means we have sufficient labor force. The state also attaches great importance to education. Ten years ago, only about 9 to 10 percent of young people had access to higher education. Today, that figure has increased three- to four-fold, reaching about 35 to 40 percent. The government places strong emphasis on young entrepreneurs, providing them with initial funding, in particular through preferential loans in fields such as information technology and startups, and even applying low or zero tax rates in certain special fields.
Fourth is women's entrepreneurship. In China, I saw many women running micro and small businesses. They not only take part in production themselves but also create jobs for other women, in fields ranging from production to information technology services, the service sector, logistics and delivery. In Uzbekistan, the state likewise attaches great importance to women's participation in entrepreneurship. The government provides preferential loans to women, particularly women in rural areas, to help them develop production and create new products, thereby raising the well-being of the population as a whole.
Q: In your book Modern China and New Uzbekistan, you discuss China's ethnic policy. During your visits to China, what examples of ethnic policy have impressed you most?
A: Both the Constitution of China and the Constitution of Uzbekistan emphasize the unity of people of all ethnic groups. China has 56 ethnic groups, while Uzbekistan has more than 130. Both countries are committed to an important principle: ensuring equal opportunities and equal rights for all ethnic groups.
We saw concrete examples of this during our visit to Inner Mongolia. The autonomous region places great emphasis on preserving characteristics, languages and traditions of ethnic groups. Communities of ethnic minorities are able to benefit from support provided by the autonomous region to preserve their cultural identity.
We also visited a number of small towns that, while developing tourism, have preserved the cultural traditions of local ethnic groups. This is important from both a cultural and a developmental perspective.
I would also like to congratulate China on releasing its new National Human Rights Action Plan (2026-2030). I saw this morning that the plan had been released. We too are now drafting our second National Human Rights Strategy, which is expected to be effective until 2030, but now it is under deliberation. Our center is the lead agency for drafting this strategy document, and we plan to study China's experience as part of that work. We have already studied China's four previous National Human Rights Action Plans, and I believe the new action plan will be useful to us as well.
Q: The grassroots organization behind Uzbekistan's poverty-alleviation work is the mahalla. What are the characteristics of Uzbekistan's mahallas, what functions do they perform, and how do they operate?
A: The mahalla is deeply rooted in our society. In recent years, on the initiative of President Mirziyoyev, mahallas have received extensive support from the state, including the establishment of the Association of Mahallas of Uzbekistan.
Mahallas are non-state organizations. The state does not interfere with their activities, but provides them with economic and social support. Each mahalla now has seven representatives, commonly referred to as the "mahalla of seven". These include the mahalla chairman, a representative for women's affairs, a social worker, a representative of the tax authorities, a representative for youth affairs, and a representative for public security affairs, among others.
They work together to resolve residents' problems at the grassroots level. If a problem cannot be resolved on their own, the relevant information will be submitted into an electronic system, and a decision will then be made at a higher level — that is, at the district, regional or republic level.
In addition, we have established a new agency called the Social Protection Agency, which provides residents with comprehensive social assistance services, including services for people with disabilities.
In China, I also saw the work of village committees, particularly in villages that have developed traditional handicrafts such as pottery and tea sets. Village officials described how they support artisans in producing pottery, teapots, cups, plates and other goods. This is another example of something we can learn from each other.
Both Chinese and Uzbek cultural traditions are built on the idea of cooperation — that is, of helping one another. This is an Asian way of thinking. The European approach, in a sense, rests on a different way of thinking, in which each person is more responsible for themselves and pays less attention to what their neighbors are doing. We are different. Because of historical and natural conditions — the need to fetch water from afar, for instance, or the need to work together in agriculture, animal husbandry and handicraft production — people have had to assist and support one another. China and Uzbekistan share similar traditions in this respect.
Here I would like to quote a well-known Chinese saying: "A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to a garden." I believe this saying reflects the views we share on many issues, including human rights and poverty reduction.
Q: Uzbekistan is a multi-religious country. As a jurist and legislator, have you taken part in religion-related legislative work? In your view, how does Uzbekistan safeguard freedom of religious belief?
A: With regard to religious policy, Uzbekistan's new Constitution clearly stipulates that the state is secular. Religion is separate from the state, while every individual's freedom of religion or belief is guaranteed.
At present, Uzbekistan has more than 2,300 religious organizations, representing 16 religious denominations. These include Buddhist, Christian and Muslim communities, as well as Jewish communities. Majority of the population is Muslim, accounting for about 90 percent.
Uzbekistan has been home to followers of the world's various religions since ancient times. Christianity has more than a thousand years of history there; Islam arrived in the seventh and eighth centuries and has developed ever since; and Jews also settled in Uzbekistan more than a thousand years ago. Termez, in the south, was likewise one of the important early centers of Buddhism. In Uzbekistan's more than 3,000 years of history, there has never been a religious war — evidence that Uzbek society carries on a tradition of religious harmony.
In 2021, Uzbekistan adopted a new version of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations. Our center took an active part in preparing this law, which has since been effectively implemented. About a year ago, parliament also adopted a concept document on safeguarding freedom of religious belief and the principle of a secular state.
Q: What experience does Uzbekistan have in exchange and mutual learning among civilizations with its neighbors? Are there cases in which Uzbekistan has shared its own successful experience with other countries?
A: On cultural exchange and mutual learning, Uzbekistan now pursues a policy of openness. There are more than 200 universities across the country, including branch campuses of 35 foreign universities.
Many foreign students are now studying in Uzbekistan, including students from China. Just last week, a Chinese doctoral student at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Uzbekistan defended his dissertation, and I took part in the defense. His dissertation dealt with international law and the International Criminal Court.
Uzbekistan also has the El-Yurt Umidi Foundation, which supports Uzbekistani students studying in universities abroad. Since last year, the state has also started offering free scholarships to foreign students. In the past, foreign students studying in universities in Uzbekistan mainly did so under contract arrangements; now they can also study here for free.
In addition, both Tashkent and Samarkand are home to Confucius Institutes, and China-related vocational education and technical training programs have also begun operating in Uzbekistan. Cultural and humanitarian exchanges between China and Uzbekistan are becoming increasingly closer, and I believe this process should continue to deepen and enhance.
Q: The Silk Road has long connected China and Uzbekistan. From the two countries' long history of exchange, what experience can be passed down to future generations, and how can we draw useful lessons from history?
A: We study the past in order to promote the harmonious development of society as a whole. Without knowledge of history, one cannot become a fully formed modern person. Of course, today in the age of information and modern technology, the internet and social media take up an important place, making it increasingly difficult for children and young people to learn history through books.
I believe that studying history and our rich cultural heritage will help shape a generation that cherishes its own history, respects its predecessors, and understands the value of its own society's development. Both Chinese and Uzbekistani traditions hold that certain elements of modern Western civilization are not always suited to us, and that we should base ourselves on our own historical roots and social development.
As a Chinese saying goes, "Gold lies at the tip of the hoe." Uzbekistan has a similar saying, "Bread does not fall from the sky by itself." In other words, everything must be achieved through labor. Today, for example, we are sitting in a modern office like this one, with air conditioning and all the modern conveniences. None of this appeared overnight and it is the result of the labor of generations. History helps us understand how our nation has developed.