Uzbek’s Karimov to visit China

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – Making his first trip abroad since a bloody crackdown on protesters, Uzbek President Islam Karimov left Tuesday on a visit to China, which has provided a rare note of support for the authoritarian Central Asian leader.

Karimov, who has rebuffed international calls for an independent inquiry into the May 13 bloodshed, apparently looked to his trip to underline that China is on his side. On Tuesday, Beijing said it “firmly” backed his actions in crushing anti-government demonstrators.

China is eager to tap into Central Asia’s energy resources, and it has watched warily since the United States deployed troops to the region after the Sept. 11 attacks, including at an Uzbek base.

Beijing also wants stability in the former Soviet states of Central Asia, a region that China – like Russia – considers a tinderbox of Islamic militancy that could spread to its own territory.

The Chinese and Uzbek governments said Karimov’s visit was planned long before the May 13 uprising in the eastern Uzbek town of Andijan.

Western governments harshly criticized Karimov for using force to put down the uprising. But China and Russia have been more supportive of Karimov’s decision to act after armed men seized government buildings and broke into a jail to free 23 businessmen accused of Islamic extremism.