Ningxia, with a population of over 7 million, also plays a key role in the BRI.

Golib Nematov, an official from Uzbekistan's Samarkand region, called the forum a "very good platform" for cooperation and dialogue. "It has created a lot of opportunities for us. I hope we can continue and deepen this kind of cooperation model," he said.

Nematov said this was his second visit to Ningxia, and that both sides have been working together in many areas such as agriculture, logistics, construction and tourism. "I found that Ningxia pays great attention to green development and, hopefully, we can further expand our cooperation in this area," he added.

Central Asia is an important trade partner and source of tourists for Ningxia. In the past decade, the autonomous region's total imports and exports with the five countries reached 1.89 billion yuan.