Foreign Ministers Of China And Tajikistan Hold Talks On Boosting Ties.
The State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, met with his Tajik counterpart, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, in Beijing on Monday to discuss ways of enhancing bilateral ties between the two countries.
According to Wang, China-Tajikistan relations have come a long way since the establishment of diplomatic relations 30 years ago, with a number of “firsts” achieved.
It is important for both sides to take the lead in signing cooperation documents on the Belt and Road cooperation, as well as in building a community of common development and security, making an important contribution to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Wang said.
There was a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in February, during which a new strategic plan was charted for the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
In light of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Tajikistan, China is ready to work with Tajikistan to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and strive to create a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future, so as to advance the long-term mutually beneficial cooperation between both countries and add a renewed momentum to the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, Wang said.
I would like to point out that China strongly supports Tajikistan’s efforts to safeguard its sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, as well as to pursue a path of development and revitalization in accordance with its national circumstances, so that it can play a greater role in international and regional affairs, Wang said.
According to Muhriddin, for his part, Tajikistan and China are good neighbors, friends, and partners, as well as having always coexisted peacefully and achieved mutual benefits, setting an example of state-to-state exchanges in Tajikistan and China.
Tajikistan, he said, is strongly committed to safeguarding China’s core interests and always adheres to the one-China principle in order to safeguard its core interests.
It is clear that the development strategies of Tajikistan and China are highly compatible, Muhriddin said. He also said that Tajikistan is willing to develop long-term plans for the development of bilateral relations and that the country welcomes and supports the idea of building a Chinese-Tajikistan community with a shared future as the vision and goal of joint efforts between the two countries. There can be further discussions between the two sides about this issue in the future.
Tajikistan has expressed appreciation for China’s remarkable achievements in terms of poverty alleviation and innovative development, and the country hopes to learn from China’s successful experience so as to help Tajikistan achieve sustainable development and accelerate the industrialization process as soon as possible.
I would like to note that the minister stated that the two sides should enhance connectivity, promote trade and investment cooperation, and extend exchanges and cooperation in the realms of production capacity, mineral resources, infrastructure, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, agricultural cooperation, as well as cooperation between subnational levels.
As part of his remarks, Muhriddin expressed his gratitude to China for its assistance in providing vaccines and hoped that bilateral cooperation would be strengthened in the fight against COVID-19.
It is apparent that Tajikistan and China’s bilateral ties go well beyond the scope of bilateral relations, Muhriddin said, noting that Tajikistan is prepared to strengthen communication and coordination under multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as to strengthen security cooperation and jointly protect peace in the region.
He noted that the cooperation between China and Tajikistan has overcome the challenges brought by the pandemic and has made new progress in various fields, noting that the trade volume between the two countries is expected to hit a record high this year despite the obstacles the countries face.
According to Wang, the two sides should begin working on the medium and long-term economic and trade cooperation plan signed by two sides, further align their development strategies, enhance cooperation on infrastructure and production capacity, and expand cooperation in emerging sectors such as the digital economy, new energy, and high-tech.
China is going to continue to actively promote key projects that will assist Tajikistan, run the first Luban Workshop in Central Asia without a hitch, and import more high-quality green agricultural products from Tajikistan in the future.
The Chinese government will continue to provide vaccination assistance as part of Tajikistan’s efforts to build an immunity sweep for epidemic prevention, Wang added, in which he mentioned that the two sides should jointly establish a traditional medicine center and strengthen their cooperation in this field.
As the two sides discussed how to strengthen their security cooperation, enhance their ability to guard against risks, and safeguard the homeland, Wang called on them to enhance their security cooperation.
The two sides exchanged views on the need to deepen cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries, agreeing to carry out cooperation in priority areas and to build a comprehensive and multi-dimensional cooperation pattern among them.
At the end of the negotiations, the two sides signed cooperation documents between their foreign ministries and attended the inauguration ceremony of the Luban Workshop and the handover ceremony of the COVID-19 vaccines for Tajikistan following the talks.