Azerbaijan and China: a new era of comprehensive strategic partnership

On April 22, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev arrived on a state visit to the People's Republic of China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During the visit, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where key areas of bilateral cooperation were discussed. Special attention was paid to the Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed last year in Astana, writes the newspaper "Caspiy".

Broad opportunities for cooperation

At the expanded meeting on April 23 between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, referring to the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership, noted that thanks to the Joint Statement signed by the heads of state on the same day, the level of comprehensive strategic partnership will rise to a new level.

Issues of cooperation and mutual support between our countries within international organizations, including the UN, SCO, and others, were discussed.

Azerbaijan and China have always supported each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. In this context, the head of our state noted that he has always supported the "One China" policy and unequivocally condemned the elections held in Taiwan. It should be noted that our countries are also making joint efforts in the fight against terrorism, extremism, and separatism.

Xi Jinping highly appreciated Azerbaijan's activities in successfully hosting COP29 and representing the interests of the Global South, where important decisions on the global climate agenda were adopted through Azerbaijan's efforts.

It was noted that there are great opportunities for cooperation between our countries in the field of renewable energy, especially considering the fact that numerous documents in this area have already been signed between the relevant structures of Azerbaijan and Chinese companies, and practical cooperation is being implemented.

The meeting touched upon the results of the last meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, as well as issues of cooperation in humanitarian and cultural spheres.

The growth of trade turnover between the two countries by more than 20% in recent times was positively assessed. In addition, our country was one of the first to support the "One Belt, One Road" project. It should be noted that there has been a recent growth dynamic in the volume of cargo transportation from China to Europe via the Middle Corridor.

Xi Jinping invited Ilham Aliyev to the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in China and a number of ceremonial events that will be organized within its framework.

Important documents signed

The day before, on April 22, the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and Chinese companies signed a number of important documents on energy cooperation. Among them - "Investment Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Universal Solar Azerbaijan LLC on the Gobustan Solar Power Plant project with a capacity of 100 MW", "Executive Agreement between the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and China Energy Overseas Investment Co Ltd on the assessment, development and implementation of an offshore wind energy project", "Executive Agreement between the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, China Datang Overseas Investment Co Ltd and SOCAR Green LLC on the assessment, development and implementation of a 100 MW floating solar power plant project and a 30 MW battery energy storage system on Lake Boyukshor", "Executive Agreement between the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, PowerChina Resources Limited and SOCAR Green LLC on the assessment, development and implementation of a 160 MW solar power plant project, etc.

Within the framework of the state visit of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to China, six documents on cooperation in the field of renewable energy sources were signed. They cover the construction of solar power plants with a total capacity of 260 MW, a floating solar power plant with a capacity of 100 MW, a battery energy storage system with a capacity of 30 MW, an offshore wind farm with a minimum capacity of 2 GW, as