President Xi Jinping holds talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon_Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago

On the afternoon of May 12, President Xi Jinping held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

President Xi congratulated Tajikistan on the 35th anniversary of its independence and major achievements in its national development. President Xi stressed that unwavering mutual support is the defining characteristic of China-Tajik relations. No matter how the external environment changes, China and Tajikistan will remain good neighbors who care about each other, good friends sharing frankness and mutual trust, and good partners pursuing common development. The signing of the Treaty of Permanent Good-neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between China and Tajikistan will fully demonstrate the high-level political mutual trust between the two countries and provide a solid foundation for the everlasting friendship between China and Tajikistan. China is ready to work with the Tajik side to build an even closer China-Tajikistan community with a shared future and bring greater benefits to the people of the two countries.

President Xi stressed that China will, as always, support Tajikistan to follow a development path suited to its national conditions and uphold its national independence, sovereignty and security. This year, China begins the implementation of its 15th Five-Year Plan. Tajikistan is also advancing its national development strategy for the period up to 2030. The two sides are expected to focus on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and further align their development strategies to support the pursuit of their respective development goals. The two sides should rely on the strong momentum of economic and trade cooperation, tap greater cooperation potential, and improve both the scale and quality of trade and investment. The two sides should ensure the implementation of major projects and expand cooperation in green energy, digital economy, smart city and artificial intelligence to further stimulate scientific and technological innovation. The two sides should deepen people-to-people exchanges and cultivate a new model of subnational cooperation to strengthen mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. The two sides should also strengthen law enforcement and security cooperation and resolutely suppress the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism to jointly maintain regional stability. China welcomes Tajikistan as a new signatory to the IOMed Convention and stands ready to strengthen cooperation within the framework of the UN, SCO, China-Central Asia Mechanism and other frameworks to promote genuine multilateralism and work towards building a more just and equitable global governance system.

President Rahmon noted that the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Tajikistan and China in the new era is deepening. Cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, transportation and agriculture has produced fruitful results, major projects are running smoothly, and people-to-people exchanges have intensified, bringing benefits to the people of the two countries. Today’s signing of the Permanent Treaty of Good Neighborhood, Friendship and Cooperation between Tajikistan and China takes bilateral relations to a new historic stage and will open new prospects for long-term cooperation between the two countries. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and Tajikistan firmly adheres to the one-China principle. Tajikistan looks forward to working with China to strengthen practical cooperation in areas such as critical minerals, artificial intelligence and scientific and technological innovation, facilitate mutual personnel visits, strengthen educational exchanges and promote greater development of bilateral relations. The Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi is of great significance to the world. Tajikistan highly appreciates China’s tireless efforts in promoting the political settlement of hot international issues and its important role in improving the situation in the Middle East. Tajikistan is ready to strengthen multilateral cooperation with China and jointly fight against the three forces of terrorism, separatism, extremism and transnational crime to maintain regional stability.

Following the talks, the two heads of state signed and issued the Treaty between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Tajikistan on Permanent Good-neighborhood, Friendship and Cooperation and the Joint Declaration between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Tajikistan on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Partnership in the New Era. The two heads of state also witnessed the signing of more than ten cooperation documents in areas such as party-to-party exchanges, economy, trade and investment, artificial intelligence, green mining and media.

During the visit, the two sides also signed more than ten cooperation documents in areas such as agriculture, culture, education, housing development, inspection, quarantine and market surveillance.

Before the talks, President Xi held a welcoming ceremony for President Rahmon at the square in front of the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People.

When President Rahmon arrived, honor guards lined up to greet him. The two heads of state took to a review stand, after which a military band played the national anthems of China and Tajikistan. A 21-gun salute was carried out in Tiananmen Square. President Rahmon reviewed the honor guard of the People’s Liberation Army and attended the parade with President Xi.

The same evening, President Xi hosted a welcome banquet for President Rahmon in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People.

Wang Yi, Wang Xiaohong and other officials were present at the above events.