Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met in Dushanbe on Thursday, agreeing to step up mutual political trust and promote substantial bilateral economic cooperation to a higher level.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) meets with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Nov. 25, 2010. [Yao Dawei/Xinhua]

Wen, who arrived?in Dushanbe as a guest of his Tajik counterpart Akil Akilov, conveyed greetings from Chinese President Hu Jintao to Rahmon.

Defining Tajikistan as one of China's important cooperation partners in Central Asia, Wen voiced his commitment to further expansion of coordination between the two nations under bilateral and multilateral settings.

China is willing to intensify cooperation with Tajikistan in sectors such as trade, power generation, transportation and mining, Wen told Rahmon, calling on the two sides to further implement the agreements reached and projects forged between the two nations, with a view to promoting bilateral ties to a higher level.

China will work closer with Tajikistan under the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to jointly combat the three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism to maintain regional stability and promote common prosperity among the SCO member states, Wen noted.

Founded in 2001, the SCO groups include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Echoing Wen's views on bilateral relations, Rahmon called China "a good friend and a good partner", saying that continued development of friendly and cooperative relations with China has always been a priority in Tajikistan's foreign policy orientation.

Rahmon also voiced his appreciation to China for its support of Tajikistan's effort on maintenance of national sovereignty and economic development.

Tajikistan will continue to back China's effort to pursue peaceful reunification, will promote its cooperation with China in fields such as trade and infrastructure construction, and will intensify its coordination with China in multilateral organizations such as the SCO, the Tajik president said.

Tajikistan is the second and last leg of Wen's four-day official visits. The Chinese premier visited Russia prior to his Tajik tour.

During the visit in Russia, Wen met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and jointly held with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the 15th regular meeting of Chinese and Russian premiers. He also witnessed the signing of a dozen bilateral cooperation agreements valued at eight billion U.S. dollars.