The historic city center of Samarkand, which is known among other things as the site of the mausoleum of the brutal 14th centry warlord Tamerlane, was largely sealed off by police for the event.
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Saturday’s funeral comes amid uncertainty over who will succeed him.
Karimov was the head of the local Communist party in Uzbekistan when it was still a Soviet republic, and he remained at the helm after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
On Saturday, thousands of Uzbeks lined streets in Tashkent as a cortege carried Karimov’s casket to the airport, from which it was to be flown to Samarkand, an ancient Silk Road city renowned for its Islamic architecture.
“During the years of our independence development under the guidance of our first leader our country has made impressive progress in all areas”, intoned the grave TV presenter.
Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev, who has been touted by outsiders as a possible successor, has been designated mourner-in-chief at Karimov’s funeral.
Former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, accused Karimov’s security forces of executing two dissidents by boiling them to death.
Xi visited Uzbekistan in June, where state media said both nations agreed to deepen their counter-terrorism cooperation, and ensure the safety of pipelines into China from Central Asia which are vital for Chinese energy security.
An United Nations report has described the utilization of torture under Mr Karimov as “organized”.
Raising eyebrows, Uzbekistan’s neighbours and fellow ex-Soviet Turkic-speaking peers Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan sent their prime ministers, not presidents to the funeral.
His death pushes the strategically located landlocked country into a “phase of uncertainty”, the head of the Russian lower house of parliament’s worldwide affairs committee, Alexei Pushkov, said yesterday.
Uzbekistan has declared three-day mourning over Islam Karimov’s death. His older daughter Gulnara was not present, having been put under house arrest in 2014 after a family power struggle erupted publicly.
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In the past 25 years, under Karimov’s leadership, Uzbekistan has witnessed social stability, economic development, improvement in people’s livelihood and worldwide status, with remarkable achievements in a wide range of areas, the Chinese vice premier added.
