Ilham Aliyev: Baku-Beijing relations are very strong

Azerbaijan and China have very strong relations, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated, answering a question from a journalist from China Zhong Zhong during the III Shusha Global Media Forum, which is currently taking place in Khankendi.

Zhong Zhong asked the President of Azerbaijan about his assessment of the current level of Azerbaijani-Chinese cooperation, the prospects for its further development and the areas in which Chinese companies could participate in the restoration of Karabakh.

Answering the journalist's questions, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan emphasized that he highly appreciates the current level of cooperation between Baku and Beijing.

"I have had the opportunity to meet with Chairman Xi Jinping on numerous occasions recently. We met both this year, during my state visit, and last year on the sidelines of the international summit, and we adopted and signed two important documents. Last year, it was the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, this year it was the Declaration on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. So it is one of the highest forms of interstate relations, and we are very pleased that we have reached such a level of mutual trust with the People's Republic of China",

Ilham Aliyev said.

He also noted that just a few days ago, the visa regime was completely abolished for Azerbaijani citizens who want to visit China with their regular passports.

"And we, in turn, abolished the visa regime for Chinese citizens a year ago. I think that this will contribute to the fact that contacts between our people, students and business people will become more frequent. We have always supported and continue to support each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Azerbaijan has always openly stated that it supports the position of the People's Republic of China on Taiwan and on other issues. Our position, the One China policy, is well known to both the Chinese leadership and the Chinese people.",

the Azerbaijani leader said.

In addition, he announced big plans to increase trade volumes between the countries.

"We have major plans to increase the volume of trade. And there is tremendous potential for this. Container trains are already traveling from many cities of China to Azerbaijan and through Azerbaijan to the West. Their number is growing year after year, by dozens of percent. I think this will increase many times in the near future. From the very beginning, we supported Chairman Xi Jinping's One Belt, One Road initiative and, for our part, prepared the corresponding transport and logistics infrastructure on our territory.",

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan announced.

He emphasized that companies from China are now actively participating as contractors in the implementation of solar power plant projects, adding that the countries have recently begun to cooperate in the production of green energy.

"Solar panels purchased by investor companies are made in China. And recently, we have also begun to cooperate with Chinese companies in the production of green energy – solar and wind. Relevant agreements have already been signed, and I think that this will also be a good addition to our mutually beneficial cooperation. So the relations are very strong. A very active political dialogue is being conducted both at the level of heads of state and at the level of ministers. We also have very close interactions with various regions of China. We already have several Azerbaijani trading houses operating in China. So we see great prospects in this area",

the head of the Azerbaijani state said.

Speaking about transport and logistics projects, he recalled that new railway arteries, including those financed by China in the Central Asian region, will help increase cargo flow through the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, and then along international routes.