Tajikistan's president meets Chinese business leaders seeking further cooperation

Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon met with Chinese business officials and a group of senior executives from various industries in Beijing on Monday evening to strengthen economic cooperation.

The meeting took place during his state visit to China from May 11 to 14. In his opening remarks, President Rahmon welcomed increased engagement from Chinese companies and encouraged them to explore new opportunities in Tajikistan.

"Over 700 Chinese companies have already invested across various sectors of Tajikistan's economy. I am confident that the deep integration of our economic, technological, and financial resources will provide strong momentum for new development opportunities, joint projects, and sustainable growth," said the Tajik president at the meeting.

China has become Tajikistan's largest trading partner and remains its top source of foreign investment.

Bilateral trade reached 790 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year, amounting to a year-on-year increase of more than 50 percent. Chinese business officials praised the steady growth and strong momentum in economic cooperation.

"Bilateral trade and economic cooperation between China and Tajikistan are developing rapidly, with trade volumes steadily increasing. China has become Tajikistan's largest trading partner. Tajikistan's specialty agricultural products, such as black cherries, are gaining popularity among Chinese consumers. Meanwhile, Chinese photovoltaic products and lithium batteries are helping to support Tajikistan's green development," said Wang Wentao, Chinese Minister of Commerce.

"During the organization of this meeting, we have seen strong enthusiasm from Chinese companies eager to participate," said Ren Hongbin, chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Ren said this reflects the business community's keen interest and positive expectations for cooperation with Tajikistan.

Executives from a wide range of industries—including robotics, artificial intelligence, new energy, education, and digital technology—attended the meeting. Many of them said that doing business with Tajikistan has already yielded fruitful results.

"As of now, we have completed or are currently constructing 18 projects in Tajikistan, with a total contract value of 580 million U.S. dollars," said Tang Yuhua, chair of the Powerchina International Group.

"We are about to launch a new production line converting coal into 300,000 tons of urea, with an estimated investment of 300 million U.S. dollars," said Li Mao, chair of China Pingmei Shenma Energy Chemical Group.

Rahmon's visit comes after he and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at last year's Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, as China and Tajikistan continue to deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and expand bilateral ties in trade, investment and infrastructure connectivity.

China and Tajikistan established diplomatic relations in 1992, and officials from both countries have described bilateral ties as being at their historical best.

Tajikistan's president meets Chinese business leaders seeking further cooperation

Returning to a full-scale war would have catastrophic consequences, a UN spokesman said at a press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday. Recent tensions over the Strait of Hormuz have exposed the deep divisions between the United States and Iran, further heightening uncertainty over their fragile ceasefire.

In response to a media query regarding the claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that the weeks-long ceasefire with Iran is on "massive life support," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, stressed the need for concerted efforts to stay committed to negotiations.

He said that the United Nations will not be swayed by the rhetoric of the parties involved in the U.S.-Iran negotiations, and its core objective is to push all parties to remain committed to negotiations.

"We have tried over the years in all of our diplomatic efforts not to listen too much to the rhetoric by any particular side involved in negotiations. What we want to do is make sure that the parties themselves remain committed to negotiations. Certainly, we appreciate the role that Pakistan has been playing as a mediator, and we want the efforts to continue. A return to full-scale fighting would be, as the Secretary-General has repeatedly said, catastrophic," he said. Both U.S. and Iranian forces have fired shots at each other in the Strait of Hormuz since the ceasefire took effect earlier last month.

Returning to full-scale US-Iran war would be "catastrophic": UN official