As part of his state visit to China that began on May 16, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon yesterday met in Beijing with the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang.
According to the Tajik president’s official website, the parties discussed a wide range of issues related to state and prospects of further expansion of the bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and China,
In the course of the talks, Emomali Rahmon reportedly stated that over the past decade, the strategic partnership between Tajikistan and China has reached a qualitatively new level, and these relations are an example of good neighborliness and sincere friendship.
It was emphasized that the bilateral trade between the countries has been steadily increasing, and last year its increase was ensured by almost 40 percent. This will allow both countries to significantly increase the volume of trade in the near future.
The parties outline sectors like industry, energy, transportation, mining and agriculture as areas that would drive the two-way trade between the countries.
Rahmon and Li also discussed issues related to digital economy, e-commerce and implementation of large infrastructure projects.
The attraction of modern Chinese technologies in the sector of processing of agricultural products, especially cotton, vegetables and fruits, and the development of cooperation in the fields of cocooning and pharmaceuticals were considered important.
In this context, it was deemed necessary to resolve the issue related to granting permission for the export of more agricultural products of Tajikistan to China as soon as possible.
Meanwhile Xinhua reports that Li said China is willing to further synergize development strategies with Tajikistan, deepen win-win cooperation and share new opportunities brought about by Chinese modernization, to continuously make the pie of bilateral cooperation bigger and more substantial and deliver more tangible benefits to the two peoples.
He reportedly urged the two sides to further strengthen pragmatic cooperation by focusing on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, continuously optimizing the trade structure and working for trade facilitation.
Noting that the upcoming China-Central Asia Summit will inject new impetus into the overall cooperation between China and Central Asia and bring new opportunities for deepening China-Tajikistan cooperation, Li expressed the hope that Tajikistan will continue to play an active role in promoting new development of China-Central Asia cooperation.
Tajikistan and 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 three major trading partners of Tajikistan.
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; this collaboration has become stronger since the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan. The two countries’ militaries have conducted joint military exercises since 2006.
