Chinese President Xi Jinping's just-concluded state visit to Tajikistan has served to further consolidate the everlasting friendship and charted a new blueprint for future cooperation between China and the Central Asian country, according to a commentary published by the China Media Group (CMG) on Saturday.
An edited English-language version of the commentary goes as follows:
The ancient Silk Road has witnessed the friendship between China and Tajikistan for more than 2,000 years. The two countries have presented many good examples of cooperation and mutual benefit over the past 32 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Xi paid a state visit to Tajikistan from Thursday to Saturday. During the visit, the two countries announced the elevation of bilateral relationship to comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era, charting a new blueprint for building a community of a shared future between China and Tajikistan from a higher starting point.
"Leapfrog development" is a key word in the history of China-Tajikistan relations. From good-neighborliness to a strategic partnership, and to a comprehensive strategic partnership to China-Tajikistan comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era, the bilateral relations have continuously achieved "historic leapfrogging".
The new positioning of China-Tajikistan relations is a new arrangement made by the two heads of state after fully considering their two countries' respective development strategies and the current international situation, which means that the two countries will have closer and more solid relations in the future and new opportunities of bilateral cooperation, said Ding Xiaoxing, director of the Institute of Europe and Asian Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
Former Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Rashid Alimov, who also previously served as Foreign Minister of Tajikistan and Ambassador to China, said that Tajikistan-China relations are a model of mutual cooperation and common development between neighboring countries.
Head-of-state diplomacy has played a vital leading role in the elevation of the relationship between China and Tajikistan. Xi has met with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon more than 10 times and forged a deep personal friendship with him, which has promoted steady and long-term development of China-Tajikistan relations.
Xi on Friday awarded Rahmon with a Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China at a ceremony in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, the first time the honor has been presented outside of China, which fully demonstrated the deep friendship of the Chinese people to Rahmon and the people of Tajikistan.
There are examples of fruitful results of bilateral cooperation under the guidance of the head-of-state diplomacy. Tajikistan is one of the first countries to participate in Belt and Road cooperation. The two countries took the lead in building a community of development and security. The China-aided parliament building and government building were inaugurated in Dushanbe on Friday, becoming new landmarks of the capital city and new symbols of cooperation between the two countries. The Dushanbe-2 thermal power station built by Chinese companies has enabled the more than 700,000 residents in the capital and surrounding areas to have uninterrupted power supply in cold winters. China imports a large amount of distinctive fruits produced in Tajikistan like cherry and lemon every year.
The continuously deepened pragmatic cooperation between China and Tajikistan has brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries.
Both China and Tajikistan are now at a critical stage of national development and revitalization. China is vigorously advancing its modernization, while Tajikistan is striving to achieve its National Development Strategy up to the year 2030.
The elevation of bilateral relationship meets the development needs of both countries and reflects the common aspirations of both sides, which is timely and natural.
The two heads of state have made detailed arrangements to make new goals set.
Political mutual trust is a cornerstone of bilateral relations.
In the joint statement issued on Friday by the two countries, Tajikistan reiterates its unswerving adherence to the one-China principle, while China, as always, reaffirms support for Tajikistan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Xi said that no matter how the international situation changes, China will always be a trustworthy friend, reliable partner and close brother to Tajikistan.
Friend, partner and brother – the three definitions demonstrate that China-Tajikistan relations are unbreakable.
Pragmatic cooperation cements the material foundation of China-Tajikistan relations.
China has long been one of Tajikistan's largest sources of investment and major trading partners. Bilateral trade between China and Tajikistan reached a record high of nearly four billion U.S. dollars in 2023.
During Xi's visit to Tajikistan, China proposed to increase imports of high-quality products from Tajikistan, deepen connectivity cooperation, enhance collaboration in mineral resources, promote agricultural cooperation, and cultivate new growth drivers for cooperation in new quality productive forces, including new energy, digital economy, artificial intelligence and e-commerce.
These specific plans correspond to the four major strategies of energy, transportation, food and employment mentioned in Tajikistan's National Development Strategy up to the year 2030, reflecting the convergence of the development strategies of the two countries and embodying China's sincerity in helping Tajikistan with its development.
This will not only accelerate the development of Tajikistan, but also contribute to high-quality advancement in implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
With more exchanges that benefit the people, the two peoples have become closer to each other.
In the two years since the first employment-promotion-oriented Luban Workshop in Central Asia was put into operation in Tajikistan, it has trained a large number of badly-needed human resources for local vocational education and the country's industrialization and modernization.
In addition, the Confucius Institute, the China-Tajikistan Tradition Chinese Medicine Center, and the Lifeline Express Belt and Road Initiative International Sight Saving Mission have also contributed to communication and friendship between the two peoples.
In the future, the two countries will also promote the establishment of cultural centers and support exchanges in youth and media, which will further consolidate the public foundation for the everlasting friendship between China and Tajikistan.
At present, amid transformations of the world unseen in a century, the importance of strengthening solidarity and cooperation in the international community has become more prominent.
China and Tajikistan agreed to continuously deepen anti-terrorism cooperation, safeguard border security and regional security and stability, and strengthen communication and cooperation within the framework of multilateral mechanisms. This will contribute to the cause of world peace and development.
Standing at a higher starting point, China and Tajikistan will continue to work hand in hand to create more benefits for the two peoples. China-Tajikistan cooperation has great potential and promising prospects, and the China-Tajikistan community of a shared future will surely enjoy an even brighter future.
Xi's visit consolidates everlasting friendship, charts blueprint for China-Tajikistan cooperation: commentary
