Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by the member of the Standing Committee of Central Politburo of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, Senior Vice Premier of the State Council Zhang Gaoli.
Ilham Aliyev expressed his confidence that this visit would contribute to the development of friendly ties and cooperation between the two countries. "We attach great importance to developing our relationship with the People's Republic of China," Trend cited the head of state as saying.
Saying that Azerbaijan and China enjoyed excellent political ties, the President pointed to the development of the bilateral cooperation in economic, humanitarian, energy, transport and other areas. The head of state described the visit of the Chinese delegation as another step toward the expansion of the friendly ties.
The Senior Vice Premier of the State Council, Zhang Gaoli, said Baku was a model of harmony of history and modernity in terms of urban planning.
The head of state said Azerbaijan considered a dialogue partner status granted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as the first step toward full integration into the organization, and added that cooperation with this organization occupied an important place in Azerbaijan`s foreign policy. President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan put a special emphasis on its cooperation with China in combating terrorism and extremism.
The head of state expressed Azerbaijan`s interest in working with China to create and develop the Silk Road infrastructure. The President said Azerbaijan was ready to play a vital transit role in the transportation of Chinese products to Europe and vice versa.
The head of state said Azerbaijan welcomed the Chinese investments made in different areas of economy.
President Ilham Aliyev said Chinese firms were successfully involved in Azerbaijan`s construction sector, and underlined the existence of good potential for cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, energy, transport, high technologies, agriculture, communication and information technologies, and others.
