President Xi to discuss key areas of cooperation with Kazakh and Tajik presidents

Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss bilateral ties, key areas of cooperation and other topics with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon during his state visits to the two countries in the coming days, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday.

Kazakhstan is a friendly neighbor and a permanent comprehensive strategic partner of China. Over the 32 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China-Kazakhstan relations have consistently maintained a healthy and stable development momentum, Mao said.

Cooperation in various fields, including economy and trade, investment, connectivity, energy and culture, has been fruitful, becoming a model of good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation between neighboring countries, she added.

Last year, Xi and Tokayev met in both Xi'an and Beijing, making new plans and drawing a new blueprint for the development of China-Kazakhstan relations, leading the cooperation between the two countries into a golden period of rapid development, the spokesperson said.

The upcoming state visit will be Xi's fifth to Kazakhstan. It is believed that his visit will further enhance and upgrade China-Kazakhstan relations, enrich the high-quality cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and further improve the well-being of the people in both countries, Mao said.

Xi's visit to Tajikistan will be his first in five years. Mao said Tajikistan is a friendly neighbor and a comprehensive strategic partner of China. 

In recent years, under the strategic leadership of Xi and Rahmon, China-Tajikistan relations have maintained a positive development momentum, Mao said, adding that the political mutual trust between the two countries has been continuously strengthened. She said Belt and Road cooperation has yielded fruitful results, cultural exchanges have deepened, and there has been close cooperation on international and regional affairs.

In May last year, the two leaders jointly announced the establishment of a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future characterized by long-term friendship, mutual support and mutually beneficial cooperation.

China looks forward to working with Tajikistan to use this visit as an opportunity to further consolidate political mutual trust, deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and promote mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries, according to Mao. 

This will inject new and strong momentum into the development of China-Tajikistan relations, continuously elevating the comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights, she added.