BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.

Xi congratulated Tajikistan on the 35th anniversary of its independence and on the major achievements of its national development. He noted that steadfast mutual support is the defining feature of China-Tajikistan relations. No matter how the external environment evolves, China and Tajikistan will remain good neighbors looking out for each other, good friends sharing candor and mutual trust, and good partners pursuing joint development, Xi said.

The signing of the China-Tajikistan Treaty on Permanent Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation will fully demonstrate the high-level political mutual trust between the two countries and provide a solid underpinning for China-Tajikistan everlasting friendship, he said.

He added that China stands ready to work with Tajikistan to build an even closer China-Tajikistan community with a shared future and deliver greater benefits to the people of the two countries.

Xi stressed that China will, as always, support Tajikistan in following a development path suited to its national conditions and in upholding national independence, sovereignty and security.

This year, China begins the implementation of its 15th Five-Year Plan. Tajikistan is also advancing its National Development Strategy for the period up to 2030. The two sides should focus on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and further align their development strategies to support the pursuit of their respective development goals, he said.

He said the two sides should build on the strong momentum of economic and trade cooperation, tap into greater cooperation potential, and enhance both the scale and quality of trade and investment, adding that the two sides should guarantee the implementation of major projects and expand cooperation on green energy, digital economy, smart city and artificial intelligence to further boost sci-tech innovation.

He called on the two sides to deepen people-to-people exchanges and cultivate a new model of sub-national cooperation to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. The two sides should also step up law enforcement and security cooperation and resolutely crack down on the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism to jointly uphold regional stability, he said.

Xi said China welcomes Tajikistan as a new signatory to the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed) Convention and stands ready to strengthen cooperation under the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the China-Central Asia mechanism and other frameworks to promote true multilateralism and work for the building of a more just and equitable global governance system.

Noting that the Tajikistan-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era is deepening, Rahmon said cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, transportation and agriculture has produced fruitful results, major projects are proceeding smoothly, and people-to-people exchanges have grown closer, bringing benefits to people of both countries.

The signing of the Tajikistan-China Treaty on Permanent Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation today brings bilateral relations into a new historical stage and will open up new prospects for long-term cooperation between the two countries, he said.

Rahmon said Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and Tajikistan firmly adheres to the one-China principle. Tajikistan looks forward to working with China to strengthen practical cooperation in such areas as critical minerals, artificial intelligence and sci-tech innovation, facilitate mutual personnel visits, enhance educational exchanges and promote greater development of bilateral relations, he said.

Noting that the Global Governance Initiative put forward by President Xi is of great significance to the world, he said Tajikistan highly appreciates China's unremitting efforts to promote the political settlement of international hotspot issues and its important role in easing the situation in the Middle East.

He said Tajikistan is ready to strengthen multilateral cooperation with China and jointly combat the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism and transnational crimes to maintain regional stability.

Following the talks, the two heads of state signed and issued the Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Tajikistan on Permanent Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation and the Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Tajikistan on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in the New Era. The two heads of state also witnessed the signing of over ten cooperation documents in such areas as party-to-party exchanges, economy, trade and investment, artificial intelligence, green mining and media.

During the visit, the two sides also signed over ten cooperation documents in areas including agriculture, culture, education, housing development, inspection and quarantine and market supervision.

Before the talks, Xi held a welcoming ceremony for Rahmon at the square outside the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People. Xi hosted a welcoming banquet for him in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday evening.