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

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.