China, Tajikistan agree to deepen ties for common prosperity

According to the joint statement, China and Tajikistan will continue to support each other on issues concerning their core interests, such as national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and give priority to the development of bilateral ties in each side's foreign policies.

The two sides pledged in the statement to advance the in-depth alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and Tajikistan's national development strategy for the period up to 2030 with a view to building a China-Tajikistan community of development.

The statement says that China and Tajikistan will boost security cooperation to build a China-Tajikistan community of security step by step.

The two sides also pledged to continue increasing cooperation in culture, education, science, health, sports and other areas as well as expanding exchanges between media, art troupes and youth organizations.

They will continue to strengthen mutual support and cooperation in the United Nations, the SCO, the CICA and other multilateral frameworks, and exchange views and coordinate stances in a timely way on major international and regional issues to jointly address global and regional challenges, according to the statement.

The two leaders also met the press together. Prior to their talks, Rahmon held a grand welcoming ceremony for Xi.

Xi arrived here Friday for the fifth CICA summit and a state visit to Tajikistan, which is the second leg of Xi's two-country Central Asia trip. He previously visited Kyrgyzstan for a state visit and the 19th SCO summit.