Speaker of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament, Shukurjon Zuhurov today met here with Mr. Pan Yunhe, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Speaking at the meeting, Tajik speaker noted that China remains the largest trading partner of Tajikistan and the largest foreign investor in Tajikistan’s economy, Muhammadato Sultonov, a spokesman for the Majlisi Namoyandagon, told Asia-Plus in an interview.  

Zuhurov reportedly noted that Tajikistan would promote further attraction of Chinese companies to Tajikistan by means of creating favorable investment climate.

“In view of this, we are seriously considering prospects of creating a zone of free trade with China,” Tajik parliamentary speaker said. 

He noted that Tajikistan intends to increase its two-way trade with China to $3 billion by 2020.

According to the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, a two-way trade between Tajikistan and China last valued at more than 885 million somoni, which was 11 percent more than in 2015.

“First of all, we intend to increase our agricultural exports to China.  We hope that a protocol on phytosanitary requirements between the Ministry of Agriculture of Tajikistan and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China will be signed in the near future,” Tajik parliamentary speaker stressed.

Representative of China’s parliament, for his part, noted that parliamentarians of the two countries have not yet used their potentials to the full extent in order to bring relations between China and Tajikistan to a higher level, Sultonov said.     

Recall, a high-level Chinese parliamentary delegation headed by Mr. Pan Yunhe, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is arrived in Dushanbe today on a three-day working visit. 

The purpose of the visit is for the delegation to further boost mutual cooperation and strengthen parliamentary linkages between the two countries.

The National People's Congress (usually abbreviated NPC) is the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.  With 2,987 members it is the largest parliamentary body in the world.  Under China's current Constitution, the NPC is structured as a unicameral legislature, with the power to legislate, the power to oversee the operations of the government, and the power to elect the major officers of state. The NPC and the National Committee of the People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a consultative body whose members represent various social groups, are the main deliberative bodies of China, and are often referred to as the Lianghui (Two Assemblies).