Chinese President Xi Jinping and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon jointly met the press after they held talks in Dushanbe on Friday.
Xi pointed out that he and President Rahmon had informative and fruitful talks. He said the two leaders signed a joint statement to establish the comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era and decided to build a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future, featuring everlasting friendship, solidarity, and mutual benefit from a higher starting point.
The two leaders witnessed the exchange of over 20 intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents, covering cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, connectivity, minerals, security, and humanities, said Xi, adding that China-Tajikistan ties have acquired a new orientation and opened up new prospects for cooperation between the two countries.
Xi also mentioned that he awarded President Rahmon the Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China for the outstanding contribution to the development of China-Tajikistan relations. He said it was the first time the award had been presented outside of China, which fully reflected the deep friendship of the Chinese people for President Rahmon and the people of Tajikistan.
Xi emphasized that the two sides will, as in the past, firmly promote friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation, support each other in taking the path of development in line with the national conditions, and safeguard each other’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. No matter how the international situation changes, China will always be Tajikistan's trustworthy friend, reliable partner and close brother, said Xi.
The Chinese president also noted that the two sides agreed to focus on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, comprehensively promote the synergy of development strategies of the two countries, and help each other's modernization drive, as well as advance further cooperation in various fields.
Xi pointed out that China and Tajikistan are determined to further strengthen security cooperation, maintain border security between the two countries, unequivocally oppose third-party interference in the internal affairs of the two countries, and jointly maintain security and stability in the region. Meanwhile, the two sides will continue to strengthen communication and coordination on the Afghan issue, participate in cooperation on Afghan-related mechanisms, and encourage the Afghan interim administration to build an inclusive government which focuses on development and improving people's livelihoods, fighting against terrorism-related crimes, and pursuing good neighborly relations.
The two sides highly value the results of China's cooperation with Central Asia and are willing to uphold the principle of truthfulness and pragmatism and continue to improve and strengthen the China-Central Asia mechanism, said Xi. As China has taken over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and will host the SCO summit next year, Xi also welcomed President Rahmon to visit China to discuss the development of the organization.
Xi highlighted the importance of strengthening solidarity and collaboration in the international community during this time when the world is in the midst of great changes that have not been seen in a century. He said China advocates an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic globalization, and is ready to work together with Tajikistan to actively implement the initiatives on global development, security and civilization, as well as contribute to the peace and development of the world.
For his part, President Rahmon said Xi's state visit to Tajikistan is an important milestone in the history of bilateral relations, which will inject strong, new impetus into the development of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Tajikistan and China in the new era. Rahmon said during the talks with President Xi, they both expressed satisfaction with the two countries’ advanced development of the comprehensive strategic partnership and the fruitful results of cooperation, and reached a new consensus on the future development of ties. He also said that Tajikistan will strengthen practical cooperation with China in various fields and make contributions for realizing peace and stability in the region.