After a three-year interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, representatives of business communities of Tajikistan and China have finally met offline in Dushanbe.
Organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tajikistan (CCI), a meeting with a delegation of representatives of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) took place at Serena Dushanbe Hotel on April 24. Representatives of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps presented their organization’s opportunities.
A business forum that took place on April 25 resulted in signing of two cooperation documents, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of cooperation between Tajikistan’s CCI and XPCC’s Committee for the Promotion of International Trade and an agreement on cooperation between Tajikistan’s Agribusiness Association and Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System Co Ltd, which is China's largest water-saving facility development and production company.
The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, also known as XPCC or Bingtuan ("The Corps"), is a state-owned economic and paramilitary organization in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It operates prisons and publicly traded companies.
The Republic of Tajikistan and People's Republic of China have friendly relations characterized by bilateral and multilateral collaboration. The two countries established formal relations on January 4, 1992, shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
China is now among the four largest trade partners of Tajikistan. Over the first eleven months of this year, the total trade turnover between Tajikistan and China has reached 709 million U.S. dollars. A number of large Chinese enterprises in various industries operate in Tajikistan.
Many Tajik students are trained in different institutions in China. A large number of students are trained in an educational and cultural center of Confucius in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Chinese Government is organizing training courses and seminars in various fields for Tajikistan's specialists. Chinese language centers have been opened in a number of higher education institutions of Tajikistan.
The “Chinese culture corner” was opened at the National Library of Tajikistan. Both countries hold regular cultural shows and events.
Tajikistan and China are active members of the regional and international organizations and closely cooperate within the framework of these organizations, particularly the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China swayed Tajikistan to combat the ‘three evils’ that are terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism.
The legal foundation of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries includes more than 200 interstate and intergovernmental agreements.
The governments of China and Tajikistan collaborate on security and military training; the two countries' militaries have conducted joint military exercises since 2006.