印在货币上的友谊象征 跟随环球时报走进塔吉克斯坦国家图书馆

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#主流媒体报道#“一六六”战略路径

The Tajik National Library in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan Photo: Li Xuanmin/GT

驱车穿过塔吉克斯坦首都杜尚别的城市商业中心，一座九层楼的建筑——塔吉克斯坦国家图书馆映入眼帘，它由中建集团旗下中建新疆建工承建，并印在塔吉克200索莫尼纸币上，是这里最醒目的地标性建筑之一。近日，《环球时报》的采访来到了这里。

△塔吉克斯坦200索莫尼纸币

作为中亚地区最大的图书馆，塔吉克斯坦国家图书馆生动地展示了中国企业如何将先进的建造技术和丰富的施工经验相结合，不断促进中亚地区的基础设施发展水平。

“中亚迫切需要更多的基础设施建设。以塔吉克斯坦为例，作为最早加入共建‘一带一路’倡议的国家之一，塔吉克斯坦的发展战略与倡议内容高度契合。因此，中塔两国在基础设施领域具有坚实的合作基础和广阔的发展潜力”，中建新疆建工海外事业部负责人告诉《环球时报》。

环球时报

Regional development has been a priority under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) framework and the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Central Asia has been transforming from a "landlocked" region to a transportation hub in Eurasia, witnessing great improvement in internal connectivity while also integrating itself more seamlessly into the global economic and logistics chain, Chinese company representatives and scholars from Central Asia said.

The comments were made during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, which kicked off on Tuesday and last until Saturday, during which Xi will also attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO to be held in Astana.

Observers and industry insiders also expect more infrastructure projects to be discussed during the visit, in particular with regards to new progress on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project and the joint development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the "Middle Corridor," which would all give a further boost to regional connectivity and facilitate China's westward opening-up.

In Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, the Tajik National Library, a nine-story landmark building, stands at the city's business center. The library, appearing on the country's 200 Somoni bank note, is being built by CSCEC Xinjiang Construction and Engineering Group. 

The library, the largest of its kind in Central Asia, offers a vivid demonstration of how Chinese companies have been leveraging their advantages in technology know-how and rich experiences to foster infrastructure development across Central Asia. 

"Compare the geographic maps of Central Asia prior to the BRI with up-to-date maps of the region: new railroads, highways, bridges, port and cargo terminals, gas and oil pipelines, electric power stations, high-tech agricultural farms, which all point to dramatic transformation and huge leaps in the 21st century," former SCO secretary-general Bolat Nurgaliyev told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

During a state visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013, Xi proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt, an essential component of the BRI.

In Kazakhstan, the joint implementation of a number of the BRI-related connectivity projects such as the China-Kazakhstan International Logistics Base in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province, has also made the country a key link between Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region in recent years.

Industry insiders said they expect more infrastructure projects on "external connectivity" to be launched, further promoting the China-Central Asia infrastructure cooperation to move to deeper and broader areas.  

"Central Asia is still in dire need of more infrastructure development. Take Tajikistan.  The country is one of the earliest countries to join the China-proposed BRI, which synergizes with the country's development strategy. So, there's a solid foundation and a great potential to be tapped in terms of infrastructure cooperation between the two economies," Wang Peng, general manager of the overseas business division under the CSCEC Xinjiang Construction and Engineering Group, told the Global Times.

In July, an intergovernmental agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was signed in Beijing, the Xinhua News Agency reported. As a milestone connectivity project between China and SCO members under BRI, the railway begins in Kashi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and enters the territory of Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan. 

"The transnational railway, when completed, will further cement Central Asia's role as a bridge connecting western China, as well as West and South Asia, with the European continent," Zhi explained, noting that it could also increase the number of international corridors stretching from China's Xinjiang region from one to two. 

Last year, Astana and Beijing signed the Agreement on the Joint Development of TITR. According to Nurgaliyev, when the TITR is fully operational, it will be the most convenient, reliable and shortest route for cargo shipments between China and Europe through Kazakhstan.