DUSHANBE, 01.09.2017. /NIAT “Khovar”/. As we earlier reported, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, at the invitation of the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, paid a state visit to the People’s Republic of China from August 30 to September 1, 2017. This is the second meeting of the leaders of the two states this year.

China is a strategic partner of the Republic of Tajikistan. The strengthening and development of bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation with this country is one of the priority areas of foreign policy of Tajikistan.

Tajik-Chinese cooperation is characterized by high dynamics of contacts at the highest level and an impressive contractual and legal basis for interaction.

Among the basic documents of bilateral relations are the Joint Declaration on the Basic Principles of Relations between the Republic of Tajikistan and the People’s Republic of China signed on March 9, 1993, the Treaty on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between the Republic of Tajikistan and the People’s Republic of China signed on January 15, 2007, the Joint Declaration of Heads of States of the Republic of Tajikistan and the People’s Republic of China on the establishment of strategic partnership relations signed on May 20, 2013, and the Joint Declaration of the Republic and Tajikistan and the People’s Republic of China on further deepening strategic partnership signed on September 13, 2014, which laid a solid contractual and legal basis for a phased, long-term and stable development of bilateral relations.

The volume of bilateral trade between our countries is growing at a steady pace. Relying on the achieved level, the Government of Tajikistan intends to gradually increase its efforts to further expand and deepen economic and trade cooperation, taking into account the favorable conditions of geographical proximity and economic complementarity.

Proceeding from the real requirements of the development of bilateral relations and the rapid enhancement of cooperation between the two states in various fields, the parties came to a decision to raise relations to a new level — a comprehensive strategic partnership.

It is also planned that the President of the Republic of Tajikistan as part of this visit to China will participate in the Dialogue between the BRICS countries and the five invited developing countries on September 3-5 this year in Xiamen, People’s Republic of China.

During the state visit, the two heads of state held talks in a warm and friendly atmosphere, appreciated the significant progress achieved by the Republic of Tajikistan and the People’s Republic of China in all spheres of cooperation for 25 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and in a spirit of full understanding held a broad exchange of views on a bilateral, international and regional issues of mutual interest.

As a result of the visit, Joint Statement of the Republic of Tajikistan and the People’s Republic of China on the establishment of comprehensive strategic partnership relations and a number of bilateral documents were signed. Both sides decided to further strengthen mutual contacts of the heads of state of the two countries, as well as inter-parliamentary and inter-ministerial exchanges and consultations at various levels and an overall improvement of the level of mutual political confidence and maintaining the Tajik-Chinese relations at the top level.

Tajikistan and China are also actively interacting in the world arena, in particular, within the framework of the UN and the SCO. The two countries have similar or close positions on many international and regional issues.