China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to Tajikistan next week.  

According to the Tajik MFA information department, this issue of preparations for the upcoming visit of the Chinese foreign minister to Tajikistan was discussed at a meeting of the Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin with China’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Liu Bin that took place here on July 8.

Sirojiddin Muhriddin (R) andChina’s Ambassador Liu Bin

The two reportedly discussed state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and China.

Muhriddin and Liu also exchanged views on cooperation between Tajikistan and China within the framework of international and regional organizations.

While in Dushanbe, the Chinese foreign minister will also participate in a session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations that will take in the Tajik capital from July 13-14. 

Wang Yi (born October 19, 1953) is a Chinese diplomat and politician who has been the foreign minister since March 2013. He formerly served as China's Vice Foreign Minister, Ambassador to Japan and Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office.  He has served as the Foreign Minister since March 2013 and a State Councilor since March 2018.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.  It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently has eight full members -- China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are four observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey.  ACEAN, CIS, Turkmenistan and the United Nations are guest attendances.

The SCO now represents around 42% of the world’s population, 22% of its land area and around 20% of GDP.