Baku - Beijing: prospects for cooperation

Baku - Beijing: prospects for cooperation

Cooperation between Azerbaijan and China, which has significantly intensified in recent years, can be further developed in a number of promising areas, the Azerbaijani political scientist Rovshan Ibragimov, told Vestnik Kavkaza, commenting on the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

"This is a long-term memorandum, it was a response to the beginning of intensive relations between the two countries. In November 2015, President of Azerbaijan paid an official visit to China, a number of documents and memorandums were signed in different areas. In addition, a variety of Chinese delegations visited Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani delegations visited China," the expert reminded.

According to him, first of all, the bilateral cooperation will be developed in the transport and energy sectors. "We should remember that cars in Nakhichevan are produced with Chinese technologies. In general, many Chinese national companies are already involved in a number of projects on the territory of Azerbaijan," Ibragimov said.

He said that in the future Azerbaijan and China may establish cooperation in different retail trade areas, such as mechanical engineering, electronics and so on.

The expert noted that the trade turnover between the two countries is not very high. "It varies depending on the needs for Azerbaijani oil on the Chinese market," he said.

First of all, this is due to transport and logistical reasons. "China mainly exports by sea, while Azerbaijan has no access to open seas. The situation can be improved upon the development of the new China's Eurasian program 'One Belt, One Road'. Container traffic from China through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and then to Georgia and Turkey started in 2016. The route can be improved," Ibragimov said.

"Therefore, an increase in transport flow via this corridor, that is, through Central Asia to Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus, is a priority. Subsequently, the turnover can be extended," the expert noted.

Among other factors contributing to the development of bilateral relations, the expert mentioned direct flights between Azerbaijan and China. "Silk Road airlines flies from Azerbaijan to China, which also has a positive effect on the intensity of the relations. And I think that the economic and political contacts will increase as the transport channels increase," he predicts.

The expert spoke about the development of tourism, stressing that Azerbaijan is of great interest to China in this sphere. "It is possible that if the visa regime for China is simplified, we can get the same effect as with the Persian Gulf countries [a sharp increase in tourist arrivals - VK]. And I think that China, which is actively seeking new tourist destinations, will be interested in Azerbaijani tourism," the expert explained.

"That is, the current visa regime is the main obstacle, because there are direct flights from China to Azerbaijan and the prices are quite reasonable. I think that a comprehensive approach can increase the number of Chinese tourists in Azerbaijan," Rovshan Ibragimov concluded.

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