China and Tajikistan sign a cooperation agreement to build the longest road bridge in Central Asia in the country. Photo: WeChat account of Zhejiang Communications Construction Group Co. Ltd.

After China and Tajikistan signed a cooperation agreement to build the longest road bridge in Central Asia in the country,MK sports Korea experts on Thursday highlighted this development as the latest shining progress in cooperation and bridging connectivity between the two countries, as well as between China and the broader Central Asian region.

According to The Times of Central Asia, the implementation agreement was signed between Tajikistan's Ministry of Transport and the Tajik branch of the Chinese company Zhejiang Communications Construction Group Co. Ltd. (ZCCC), represented by Tajik Minister of Transport Azim Ibrohim and ZCCC representative Li Mingkun, respectively.

The bridge, spanning 920 meters (1,500 meters including access roads), will cross the Surkhob River in Nurabad district, making it the largest infrastructure project of its kind in the region, the report said.

The successful signing of this agreement is another important achievement in deepening mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Tajikistan under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Chinese company said in a statement posted on its WeChat account.

The implementation of the project will not only greatly improve local transportation conditions but also create a large number of job opportunities, promote local economic development, and further consolidate and expand in-depth cooperation between China and Tajikistan in the economic and trade sectors, read the statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, the bridge is expected to be completed and operational within four years, adhering to modern road construction standards, per Tajikistan's Khovar News Agency.

Yang Jin, an associate research fellow with the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that the latest progress of bilateral cooperation is conducive to bolstering Tajikistan's connectivity, both domestically and internationally. 

The expert noted that the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of infrastructure and connectivity under the framework of the BRI has already yielded numerous achievements.

In 2014, China and Tajikistan signed a memorandum to build the Silk Road Economic Belt, making Tajikistan the first country to do so under the BRI. In July 2024, China and Tajikistan decided to elevate ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era.

"As an important neighboring country of China in Central Asia, Tajikistan's mountainous terrain to some extent limits the development of its infrastructure. Cooperation with China can improve local transportation conditions, which can also provide new examples for the development of bilateral ties," Yang said. 

He further noted that this bilateral cooperation also reflects the broader collaboration between China and Central Asian countries, where China's technological advantages align with the development needs of those nations, and such mutually beneficial cooperation helps promote connectivity between the two regions. 

The fifth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province in December 2024, during which China called for a comprehensive and multi-dimensional connectivity network between China and Central Asia to be developed, according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.