Chinese President Hu Jintao met Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon in Yekaterinburg Monday to discuss consolidation of friendship and expansion of pragmatic cooperation between China and Tajikistan.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on June 15, 2009. [Rao Aimin/Xinhua]

The two presidents are meeting on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Russian city.

The annual summit on June 15-16 will discuss how to tackle the international financial crisis and how to expand cooperation in political, economic, security and other areas among its member states.

Founded in 2001, the SCO consists of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran are observers of the organization.

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2009)