Xi pledges to boost China-Tajikistan ties, SCO development

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to further enhance China-Tajikistan relations as well as the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Xi made the pledge in an article published Wednesday in Tajikistan's People's Gazette newspaper on the eve of his trip to Tajikistan for an SCO summit and a state visit to the country.

Tajikistan is an important neighbor of China and China attaches great importance to its ties with Tajikistan and regards the country as an important cooperation partner, Xi wrote.

Xi expressed the hope that his visit will consolidate political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, strengthen strategic coordination and collaboration, and carry forward China-Tajikistan relations.

Tajikistan is an important country along the Silk Road, and the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt initiated by China in September 2013 was received positively by various countries, including Tajikistan, Xi said.

Standing at a new starting point of history, China is willing to work with Tajikistan to advance bilateral cooperation and bring more benefits to the two countries and the two peoples, taking the opportunity of building the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xi said.

China is committed to boosting exchanges in policy formulation with an aim to work toward the coordination and possible integration of national development strategies, he said. He also proposed providing policy support to the implementation of large cooperation projects, and to work together to create a favorable environment for trade and investment.

China will also work for trade facilitation, develop road links, push for the use of each other's currencies in trade, and strengthen people-to-people contacts, Xi said.

In the article, Xi pointed out key experience in the success of China-Tajikistan relations.

Mutual respect is the prerequisite of the smooth development of China-Tajikistan ties, mutual benefit and win-win arrangements are the driving force of China-Tajikistan cooperation, and friendship between the peoples of the two countries is the guarantee of good bilateral relations, Xi noted.

On his attendance at the SCO summit in Tajikistan, the Chinese president said that the SCO is an important platform for cooperation between China and Tajikistan in the international and regional arena.

Within the framework of the SCO, he said, China and other member countries have followed the "Shanghai Spirit" of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for the diversity of cultures and pursuit of common development. SCO member countries have established long-term cooperative relations of good-neighborliness and friendliness, and created a new model of international relations -- partnership instead of alliance, he said.

Since its establishment 13 years ago, the SCO, based on security cooperation, with economic and trade cooperation as the guarantee and people-to-people and cultural exchanges as the driving force, has made substantial progress in dealing with security threats and challenges, Xi said.

The SCO has created regional anti-terror agencies, signed a convention on the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism, and held more than 10 joint anti-terror drills, which effectively deterred terrorists and extremist forces in the region, Xi said.

Currently, the three main tasks of maintaining security, promoting development and improving the well-being of the peoples have become even more urgent, Xi said.

China is willing to work with Tajikistan, the current chair of the SCO, and other SCO members, to make the Dushanbe summit a success, he added.

Xi is scheduled to attend an SCO summit on Thursday and Friday in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. He will then pay state visits to Tajikistan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India.