XI'AN, May 18 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Thursday in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Rahmon is in China for the China-Central Asia Summit and a state visit.

Xi expressed his pleasure at meeting with his old friend in Xi'an and warmly welcomed Rahmon to China for the summit and the state visit.

He pointed out that since China and Tajikistan established diplomatic ties, the bilateral relationship has grown from one of good neighborliness to a strategic partnership and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Xi recalled his state visit to Tajikistan in 2019, during which they jointly announced the building of a China-Tajikistan community of common development and security, which has seen encouraging progress over the past four years.

Xi underscored that China-Tajikistan relations enjoy deep historical roots, a solid political foundation, substantive cooperation and extensive public support.

To ensure a bright future for the two peoples, China is ready to work with Tajikistan under the new circumstances to enhance cooperation in various areas and build a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future featuring everlasting friendship, solidarity and mutual benefit, Xi said.

Xi called on both sides to deepen all-round strategic cooperation and firmly support each other on issues concerning their core interests, including national sovereignty, independence, security and territorial integrity.

Xi also called for deepening China-Tajikistan cooperation in economy and trade, connectivity, agriculture and major projects.

China is ready to import more quality agricultural products from Tajikistan, Xi said.

The Chinese president also called for closer people-to-people exchanges to consolidate the public support and social foundation for bilateral relations.

China stands ready to work with the Tajik side to strengthen law enforcement and security cooperation to safeguard the common security of the two countries and the region, Xi said.

Xi said that he is convinced that, with the concerted efforts of all parties, the China-Central Asia Summit will open a new chapter for China-Central Asia cooperation.

Hailing Tajikistan-China relations as an example of good neighborliness and sincere cooperation between countries, Rahmon said Tajikistan supports the China-proposed Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

The Tajik side stands ready to dovetail its development strategy with the Belt and Road Initiative and strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as economy, trade, production capacity, agriculture, transportation, green economy and people-to-people exchanges, Rahmon said.

After the talks, the two heads of state signed a joint statement and witnessed the signing of a raft of bilateral documents on cooperation in areas including economy, trade, connectivity, technology and sub-national exchanges.

Cai Qi, Wang Yi and Qin Gang attended the events.