China and Uzbekistan elevated bilateral ties to a strategic partnership on Wednesday with five agreements signed to boost cooperation.

President Hu Jintao and his visiting Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov witnessed the signing after their talks in the morning.

Among the documents are an economic technology cooperation agreement and a memorandum on establishing a joint industrial park.

The two sides also signed cooperation deals regarding plant protection and quarantine as well as animal hygiene.

Statistics from Chinese customs show bilateral trade between China and Uzbekistan was more than $2.1 billion in 2011, a year-on-year decrease of about 12 percent. China is the biggest investor in the Central Asian nation.

On Wednesday morning, Hu also held talks with his counterparts from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. They are attending the 12th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Beijing Summit on Wednesday and Thursday.

The SCO groups China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.