 |
China, Tajikistan to Seek Early Settlement of Border Issue
China and Tajikistan agreed on Tuesday to speed up the pace of seeking an early settlement of the border issue between the two countries.
In a joint statement signed earlier in the day by visiting Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rakhmonov, the two countries agreed that the border problem must be solved without delay.
They promised to do this on the basis of the existing border treaties between the two countries in accordance with relevant international laws.
The border treaty, which the two presidents signed in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian on August 13, 1999, and a new border agreement involving China, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to be concluded later Tuesday, form "a solid foundation" for a comprehensive settlement of the border issue between them, the statement said.
They agreed to maintain the status quo at the present border line before a final settlement is reached.
In the joint statement, the two countries also reiterated their determination to promote goodwill and cooperation on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
Highly appreciating the smooth and sustained development of their bilateral cooperation in politics, economy, culture and other areas, the two countries stressed that further strengthening bilateral ties is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples.
In the face of challenges in the new century, the two countries are ready to make joint efforts to further promote the steady development of bilateral relations.
The two countries pinpointed that economic and trade cooperation is an important part of overall Sino-Tajik relations and vowed to take full advantage of their economically mutual complementariness to broaden cooperation in the economic and trade field.
The two countries also agreed to expand cooperation between their military departments.
Jiang arrived in Dushanbe on Monday for a two-day state visit, the first ever by a Chinese head of state to Tajikistan. After the visit, Jiang is to attend the fifth summit of the "Shanghai Five," which also involves Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, besides China and Tajikistan.
In This Section
|