BEIJING: President Xi Jinping said China will always be Tajikistan’s trustworthy friend, no matter how international circumstances change, as he held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe on Friday.
Calling Rahmon an old friend, Xi said he saw a prosperous Tajikistan as he made his first visit to the country in five years, and he believes under Rahmon’s leadership, Tajikistan will certainly achieve its national development goals.
Xi stressed that he and Rahmon had jointly made a political decision to build a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future that is friendly for generations, shares weal and woe, and achieves mutual benefit.
It aligns with the trend of the times and serves the common interests of both countries and peoples, Xi said, adding that China is willing to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership with Tajikistan in the new era and build a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future from a higher starting point.
Xi said China will continue to unwaveringly promote friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation with Tajikistan and firmly support the country in following a development path suited to its national conditions as well as in its efforts to safeguard national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China will also firmly support the Tajik president in making various political arrangements and development initiatives domestically and resolutely oppose any external forces interfering in Tajikistan’s internal affairs under any pretext, the Chinese president said.
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 Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
