The Chinese company, Xinjiang Shihezi Development, intends to create new jobs for sustainable socio-economic development in the Tajik southern province of Khatlon, the Khatlon administration’s official website says.
This was reportedly highlighted during a meeting Khatlon Governor Davlatali Said with the company’s head, Wang Xinagtzu, along with other specialists.
The meeting that took place in Khatlon’s capital, Bokhtar, on October 29 focused on key issues of mutually beneficial cooperation.
Discussions reportedly emphasized the importance of attracting investments, implementing modern technologies, and creating new jobs to foster the region's development.
Davlatali Said, in particular, noted that 120,719 hectares of cotton have already been planted in Khatlon, making this crop a priority area for partnerships with foreign investors.
Wang Xiangtzu, for his part, outlined the company’s plans to establish cotton product manufacturing and to bring new agricultural lands into use. He reportedly also expressed an intention to introduce advanced Chinese equipment to increase production volumes.
The source within the Khatlon regional administration said that the meeting had also reviewed the successful work of other Chinese companies in the province, which plan to strengthen their presence and significantly contribute to the development of cotton farming in Khatlon.
Davlatali Said emphasized the importance of collaboration with foreign partners for agricultural development and expressed hope that the meeting would provide a foundation for addressing relevant cooperation issues. Other significant aspects of collaboration were also discussed at the meeting.
Established in 1992, Xinjiang Shihezi Development is an economic and technological development zone in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). This zone is a manufacturing center for the city of Shihezi. It's the only state-level economic and technological zone in western China outside of a regional or provincial capital city.
Recall, the agricultural ministries of Tajikistan and China signed an agreement in July 2010, under which farmers from China’s Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) were supposed to use modern technology of plastic film mulching cultivation of cotton on 60 hectares of cotton fields in Bokhtar (currently Kushoniyon) district of Khatlon province. Besides, 1,000 hectares of farmland in Khatlon’s Qumsangir (currently Jaihun) district were allocated to plastic film mulching cultivation of rice.
In 2012, Tajik authorities reportedly allowed Chinese farmers to rent hundreds of hectares of land in Khatlon’s Rumi (currently Balkhi) and Yovon districts.
On July 13, 2020, an official with Tajikistan’s Ministry of Agriculture told reporters in Dushanbe that two Tajik-Sino joint ventures, namely Juntai Khatlon Sin Silu (phonetically spelled) and Vodii Zarrin (Golden Valley), have operated in Khatlon province, yielding cotton on an area of more than 10,000 hectares. Chinese farmers have reportedly used modern technologies for growing agricultural plants, applying drip irrigation.
In May this year, Mr. Gao Jong Tao, CEO of China’s Fuxin Xinyida Agriculture & Industry Trade Company, visited Khatlon province to discuss construction a leather and wool processing plant in the area.
Meanwhile, some Tajik analysts believe that China is not actually interested in rehabilitating agricultural land in Tajikistan that has been damaged by erosion but wants to expand Chinese influence into the country.
