Premier Wen Jiabao met Tuesday with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, who is on an official visit to China and will soon attend a high-level meeting of a regional organization in Beijing.

Rahmon arrived on June 1 in southeast China's city of Xiamen and will attend the 12th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) from Wednesday to Thursday.

Wen welcomed the Tajik guest, whom he called "old friend," to the SCO summit and thanked him for his contributions to promoting mutual friendship and cooperation between the two nations.

China and Tajikistan have joined hands in coping with the effects of the global financial crisis and challenges in keeping regional security, and have safeguarded the common interests of each other, said Wen during his meeting with the Tajik president.

China will closely cooperate with the Tajik side to implement consensuses reached in agriculture, infrastructure and law enforcement, said Wen.

Rahmon said China is a sincere friend, a good neighbor as well as a good partner to Tajikistan, and he welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in his country.

China and Tajikistan share extensive common interests and important consensuses, and the Tajik side expects to further cooperate with China to create a safe, stable and friendly environment, said Rahmon.

Rahmon said he had a pleasant talk Tuesday morning with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, who arranged a red-carpet ceremony for him at the Great Hall of the People.

In their 13th meeting on Tuesday since 2003, Hu and the Tajik president pledged more cooperation in handling regional and international issues of common concern, as well as in areas including energy resources, agriculture and inter-connectivity of infrastructure.

After their talks, the two presidents signed a joint declaration and witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral agreements.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2012)