Chinese premier meets Tajik president

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon in Beijing on Tuesday.

Noting that the two countries are working closely to build a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future at a higher level, Li said China stands ready to further cement political mutual trust with Tajikistan, step up mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests, and resolutely oppose interference by any external forces.

China is willing to work with Tajikistan to strive for more solid progress in promoting the China-Tajikistan comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era, injecting fresh momentum into the development and prosperity of both countries.

The Chinese side stands ready to work with the Tajik side to continue leveraging the role of the intergovernmental economic and trade cooperation committee, steadily expand the scale of trade, improve the quality and effectiveness of investment cooperation, and deepen cooperation in such areas as mineral resources, green industries, digital economy and infrastructure, Li said.

He noted that China is willing to import more high-quality products from Tajikistan and encourage more competitive Chinese enterprises to invest in the country.

He stressed the need for both countries to continue deepening exchanges and cooperation in culture, education, health, sub-national cooperation and other fields, accelerate the mutual establishment of cultural centers, and further consolidate public support for the friendship between the two countries.

China and Tajikistan are both important forces in the Global South, Li said, adding that the two sides should strengthen coordination and collaboration under such frameworks as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the China-Central Asia mechanism, and work with all parties to uphold multilateralism, promote openness and win-win cooperation, and build a more just and equitable global governance system.

China will fully support Tajikistan in hosting this year's meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the SCO, Li pointed out.

Rahmon said China is a friendly neighbor and reliable strategic partner of Tajikistan, noting that Tajikistan looks forward to closer high-level exchanges with China.

He said the Tajik side is willing to deepen cooperation with China in trade, industry, agriculture, connectivity and other fields, while expanding cooperation in emerging areas such as digital economy, green mining, clean energy and high technology, and promoting people-to-people and sub-national exchanges. Rahmon also welcomed more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Tajikistan.