China and Tajikistan Pledge Enhanced Security Ties Amid Regional Instability Concerns

BEIJING — Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged stronger security and intelligence collaboration with Tajikistan on Monday, emphasizing the need to counter what Beijing characterizes as extremism and separatism. Li also called on Tajik authorities to implement “strong measures” to safeguard Chinese nationals.

Beijing has long expressed concern that unrest in Central Asia could spill into Xinjiang, its far western region inhabited primarily by Muslim Uyghurs. Chinese officials have attributed previous attacks in Xinjiang to Uyghur militants.

During talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Li advocated for deeper law enforcement cooperation and expanded intelligence sharing, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.

Li said the two nations should work together to combat the “three evil forces”—Beijing’s term for terrorism, separatism, and extremism—and protect regional peace and stability.

International human rights organizations have accused China of severely repressing Uyghurs and restricting their religious, cultural, and linguistic freedoms. China denies allegations of abuse.

Li’s visit is part of a broader diplomatic push in resource-rich Central Asia. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Uzbekistan on Sunday, while Li visited Uzbekistan before proceeding to Tajikistan.

China shares a remote, mountainous border with Tajikistan and remains a significant investor in the country.

Late last year, five Chinese citizens were killed in Tajikistan in attacks that authorities said originated from neighboring Afghanistan.

Tajikistan, a secular former Soviet republic of roughly 11 million people, maintains strained relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and has previously cautioned about drug smugglers and illegal gold miners operating along the border.

The country experienced a brutal civil war in the 1990s following the Soviet collapse, a conflict during which Rahmon first rose to power. Tajikistan remains closely aligned with Russia, which operates a military base on its territory.

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