Premier: China to promote production cooperation with Tajikistan

Premier Li Keqiang said China is willing to better align the Belt and Road Initiative with Tajikistan's development strategies and advance projects of production capacity cooperation, at a meeting with Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda on Thursday in Sochi, Russia.

Both leaders came to the Russian city along the Black Sea coast to attend the 16th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Minister) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Li said China and Tajikistan are good neighbors with sincere mutual trust. This year marks the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. China would like to promote infrastructure cooperation and help industrialize its Central Asian neighbor, as well as contribute to regional connectivity and trade facilitation, he said.

China would like to cooperate with Tajikistan in modern agriculture and achieve win-win outcomes, the premier added.

Rasulzoda said relations with China are priorities for Tajikistan's foreign policies. He extended gratitude to China for its support and welcomed the Chinese to participate in key projects like power plants, natural gas pipelines and transport systems. He said his country would like to accelerate production capacity cooperation in areas such as the chemical industry, and expand trade in agricultural goods while providing preferential policies to Chinese companies.