Xi calls on China, Tajikistan to expand scale of bilateral trade, investment

ASTANA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on China and Tajikistan to expand the scale of bilateral trade and investment.

Xi made the remarks in a meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on the sidelines of the second China-Central Asia Summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

Xi recalled that during his visit to Tajikistan last year, he and Rahmon jointly announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era between China and Tajikistan, and made new plans and arrangements for all-round cooperation between the two countries.

He said the two sides should promptly implement them, deliver more practical results, and advance the high-quality construction of the China-Tajikistan community with a shared future.

Xi emphasized that China is a trustworthy neighbor and partner of Tajikistan and firmly supports Tajikistan in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and security.

China and Tajikistan should give full play to the role of the strategic dialogue mechanism between the two countries' foreign ministers, and coordinate and advance cooperation in various fields, said Xi.

The two countries should expand the scale of bilateral trade and investment, further speed up the construction of transportation infrastructure projects, and continuously promote connectivity, he said.

The role of the Confucius Institutes, Luban Workshop and Center for Traditional Medicine should be fully leveraged, while the "Chinese Culture Day" to be held this autumn in Tajikistan should be well organized, Xi said.

He stressed that China and Tajikistan should further strengthen law enforcement and security cooperation and step up efforts to crack down on terrorism, separatism and extremism.

The two countries share common interests in safeguarding multilateralism and defending international economic and trade order, Xi said, calling on both sides to enhance coordination and collaboration within multilateral mechanisms including the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism.

China supports Tajikistan to play an important role in global climate governance, Xi added.

For his part, Rahmon said China, under the strong leadership of President Xi, has achieved significant economic and social development accomplishments, and played an important role in international affairs.

He noted that Xi's historical visit to Tajikistan last year has opened up new prospects for bilateral ties, and elevated the strategic cooperation between Tajikistan and China to a new level, adding that both sides are actively implementing the outcomes of the visit while cooperation in various fields is flourishing.

The Tajik side, he said, is ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with China and enhance strategic communication.

He also said that Tajikistan is willing to strengthen cooperation in traditional fields such as trade, investment, agriculture and infrastructure construction, and expand cooperation in emerging fields like new energy, green industries and artificial intelligence.

Tajikistan is ready to work with China to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges, ensure "Chinese Culture Day" a success, and deepen cooperation in law enforcement and security, Rahmon said.

He also called on both sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation so that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the China-Central Asia mechanism can play a bigger role. ■