President Aliyev's visit to Beijing: a course towards boosting ties on trade, connectivity, and green energy Article By Global Times

The Chinese newspaper Global Times has published an article by Zhao Yusha dedicated to the visit of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to China. Caliber.Az reprints the selected excerpts from the piece.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Beijing on April 22 evening to pay a state visit to China through April 24 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Before his departure, Aliyev said in an interview with the Xinhua News Agency that strengthening ties with China remains a priority of Azerbaijan's foreign policy, with a particular focus on advancing cooperation in all areas of mutual concern.

During Aliyev's visit, President Xi will hold talks with him to draw up a new blueprint for the development of bilateral relations, spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guo Jiakun said on Monday. Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Zhao Leji will also meet with Aliyev separately for in-depth exchanges of views on cooperation in various fields, Guo said. 

China-Azerbaijan relations are an example of a strategic partnership led by the heads of state, thus Aliyev's visit is poised to strengthen cooperation between the two nations, with a focus on connectivity, green energy, tourism and other key areas, according to Chinese experts. They emphasized that Aliyev's trip to China underscores the attractiveness of China's commitment to free trade and win-win cooperation, especially in light of the uncertainties created by the weaponization of tariffs by certain countries. 

In a recent written interview with Xinhua published on April 21, Aliyev expressed confidence that his state visit to China would further deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Recalling his previous visits to China in 2014 and 2015, as well as his participation in the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in 2019, Aliyev said he holds fond memories of his meetings and productive discussions with Xi.

In July 2024, China and Azerbaijan signed a joint statement on establishing a strategic partnership. When meeting with Aliyev ahead of the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan in July 2024, Xi said China and Azerbaijan have upgraded bilateral relations to strategic partnership, which is a new positioning and a new starting point, Xinhua reported.

From the frequent interactions between the leaders of the two countries, it can be seen that China-Azerbaijan relations are an example of a strategic partnership led by the heads of state, Yang Jin, an associate research fellow with the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, noting that Aliyev's visit this time is likely to further deepen the partnership and lay a more solid foundation for cooperation between the two countries.

Noting that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to support the Belt and Road Initiative, Aliyev said the initiative has strengthened connectivity among countries, promoted dialogue and created new opportunities for international trade.

Azerbaijan will leverage its strategic geographic location to continue expanding international transport corridors, modernising infrastructure and allocating additional funding to increase port handling capacity, he said. 

Azerbaijan is located on the passage of the Middle Corridor in Eurasia and serves as a crucial hub of the corridor, so cooperation between China and Azerbaijan under the framework of the Middle Corridor makes the route connecting China to Azerbaijan and then extending all the way to Europe more convenient, Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times.

On April 16, the 10th meeting of the China-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was held in Baku. The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev and China's Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative Ling Ji, according to a statement of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). 

The two sides will steadily expand trade volume, accelerate the green, digital, and intelligent transformation of trade, continuously deepen investment, financing, and connectivity cooperation, and jointly promote the high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation between China and Azerbaijan, Ling said, according to MOFCOM's statement. 

Ling Ji reaffirmed China's support for Azerbaijan's accession to the World Trade Organisation, and said China is willing to work with Azerbaijan to jointly uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system.

Mustafayev said that Azerbaijan is willing to further expand exports of high-quality specialty products to China, increase imports of green and low-carbon products and technologies from China, enhance cooperation with China in mutual investment, new energy and other fields, and jointly explore the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, the statement said.

Multilateral framework cooperation 

During his interview with Xinhua, Aliyev noted that under the 2024-2025 rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China is advancing institutional development and promoting the SCO's role on the international stage under the motto of "Carrying forward the Shanghai Spirit: SCO in Action."

Azerbaijan highly values its participation in SCO activities and supports the principles the organization upholds, Aliyev said.

In August 2024, Azerbaijan has formally applied to join the BRICS group, a bid follows Azerbaijan's expression of interest at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana in early July last year, according to Xinhua.

During the summit, a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership was signed between Azerbaijan and China, with one of its provisions outlining Azerbaijan's intention to join the BRICS. China has endorsed Azerbaijan's application and pledged to support its entry into the group.

Azerbaijan's participation in SCO activities and enthusiasm in joining the BRICS demonstrates the country attaches great importance to its diplomacy with the East and places a high value on the diplomatic circle of developing countries, said Yang, noting that Azerbaijan's participation is likely to further strengthen forces within those organizations.    

Moreover, in the UN and some other international organizations, China and Azerbaijan can also carry out cooperation, support each other, so as to make the international political, economic and security order more reasonable, just and promising, said the expert.