DUSHANBE (TCA) — Creation of a Tajik-Chinese free trade zone will benefit Tajik entrepreneurs, Khudoiberdi Kholiknazar, director of the Center of Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan, told journalists on July 11, Avesta news agency reported.
He said a working group is currently working on establishment of such zone.
“This free trade zone will be established in the Chinese territory near Tajikistan’s border area of Kulma. The Chinese side is building there a huge market where Tajik entrepreneurs will be able to buy goods,” Kholiknazar said.
He said the establishment of this market will help Tajik entrepreneurs to save money and time, as today they have to cover 1.5 thousand kilometers to get to the Chinese city of Urumqi in Xinjiang.
Kholiknazar also told about plans to build a terminal in the Murgab district of Tajikistan and said the Chinese side is ready to implement the project.
“The terminal will provide online services. That means that if some goods are not available, entrepreneurs will be able to order them via the Internet,” he said.
It was earlier reported that last year Tajik-Chinese trade saw a decline.
According to official statistics, in 2014 trade between Tajikistan and China amounted to around $769 million, including $730 million in imports from China.
In 2013, bilateral trade reached $1.959 billion, an increase of 5.3 percent compared to 2012.
During his visit to Tajikistan in September 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that his country and Tajikistan to increase bilateral trade to $3 billion in five years. With China’s Silk Road Economic Belt initiative in mind, the Chinese president also urged Tajikistan to boost bilateral cooperation in various fields, including oil and gas, electricity, trade, transportation, and infrastructure projects.
