DUSHANBE, January 17, Asia-Plus – State and prospects of further expansion of bilateral economic and business cooperation between Tajikistan and China were the major topics of a meeting of Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi in Beijing on Tuesday, January 16.
Abdufattoh Sharipov, a spokesman for the Tajik president, reported from Beijing that in the course of the talks the two also considered issues that were discussed at a Tajik-Chinese business forum in Beijing yesterday.
The spokesman said that Rahmonov and Wu had hailed increased economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. During the meeting it was noted that a trade between Tajikistan and China last year amounted to nearly $300 million, which is 50 percent than in 2005.
The sides also exchanged views on expanding bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy and mining. It was noted that the two countries are currently considering a number of projects that will promote further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and China.
China’s Xinhua reports that President Rahmonov today morning left for Yichang in central China”s Hubei province where the Three Gorges Hydropower Plant is being built.
The plant, built in three phases on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, is believed to be the world”s largest hydropower project. The water level in the reservoir will eventually reach 175 meters in 2009, when the Three Gorges project is completed. After a half-day short visit to the Three Gorges Dam, Rahmonov will fly to China”s southern-most Hainan Province late on Wednesday.
Rahmonov arrived in Beijing on Monday for a seven-day state visit to China. During his stay in Beijing, Rahmonov and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao signed a treaty on good-neighborly friendship and cooperation, agreeing to push bilateral relations to higher levels.
