Xi welcomed with highest premium courtesy in Kazakhstan

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday morning attended a welcome ceremony hosted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with the highest premium courtesy in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

When Xi's motorcade arrived at the Kazakh Presidential Palace, six fighter jets deployed by the Kazakh Air Force flew over and released contrails colored in red and yellow, symbolizing the Chinese national flag.

Xi is on a state visit to Kazakhstan and will attend here the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Tajikistan will open a new era of bilateral relations, former Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Rashid Alimov said in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan on Wednesday.

Xi arrived in Dushanbe on Thursday for a state visit at the invitation of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. This is his first trip to the Central Asian country in five years.

In an interview with the China Media Group prior to Xi's visit, Alimov, who also previously served as Foreign Minister of Tajikistan and Ambassador to China, said he has witnessed the growing ties between the two countries in various fields since Xi's first visit to Tajikistan in 2014. He said he very much looked forward to new outcomes of Xi's visit this time.

"President Xi Jinping's visit to Tajikistan will definitely open up a new era (for the bilateral relations). The strategic vision of the two heads of state is not limited to the next two or three years, but is based on a longer-term outlook. Therefore, our two sides are discussing a document on defining strategic, comprehensive and deepening relations in the new era. The relationship between Tajikistan and China is booming and has reached its best level in history. The Tajikistan-China relations has set an example for the world and is a model of mutual cooperation and joint development between neighboring countries," Alimov said.

Alimov said that the exchanges between the peoples of Tajikistan and China date back more than 2,000 years and began on the ancient Silk Road, adding that the strategic guidance of the two heads of state has injected new impetus into the cultural exchanges between the two countries.

"We sincerely hope that through exchange activities like the cultural year and cultural week between the two countries, we can better understand each other and connect the two peoples," he said.

Alimov served as SCO Secretary-General from 2016 to 2018. As an important engine of pacifism, he said, the SCO plays an important role in maintaining regional stability and world peace. The voice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will not be ignored. These voices are not those of 10 countries alone. They represent the voices of nearly half of the world's population, the voices of economies that account for about a quarter of the global economy, and the voices of almost all religions and civilizations in the world. In my opinion, the SCO has played an important role in easing tensions in the world," said Alimov.