DUSHANBE, April 21  -- Tajikistan and China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region agreed Monday to advance exchanges and cooperation in such fields as agriculture, infrastructure, economy and trade, and security, with an eye on the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

The two sides made the pledge in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, during talks between Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Zhang Chunxian, secretary of the Xinjiang Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Zhang made the visit to Tajikistan to implement the consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Tajikistan last year.

Zhang also held talks with Tajik Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda during his stay in Tajikistan.