Baku, March 7, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Special Representative of the Chinese Government on European Affairs Wu Hongbo.

Wu Hongbo conveyed the greetings of President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping to the head of state, and recalled his previous meetings with the Azerbaijani President.

He said that they were greatly impressed by the country`s achievements in economic and other areas under the strong leadership of the Azerbaijani President.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the greetings, and asked Wu Hongbo to pass on his greetings to Xi Jinping.

Recalling his official visit to China, his meetings with the President of the People's Republic of China during this trip and international events, the head of state noted that he is pleased that Xi Jinping called the President of Azerbaijan a big friend of China.

Underlining that he has always supported the one-China policy, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of China, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that cooperation with China is one of the main priorities of Azerbaijan`s foreign policy. The Azerbaijani leader hailed the strengthening of bilateral relations year by year, adding that cooperation between the two countries is expanding not only on various political platforms, but also in the economic sphere and as part of “One Belt, One Road”. In this regard, the head of state described the increase in the volume of goods transported from China through Azerbaijan to the west as a good example of this.

President Ilham Aliyev recalled his letter to the President of the People's Republic of China during the Covid-19 pandemic, and underlined that Azerbaijan had been one of the world’s first countries to begin vaccination after China’s allocating vaccines to the country. He described this fact as a striking example of friendship between the two countries, adding it had been praised by the people and government of Azerbaijan.

The head of state provided information about the renewable energy potential of Azerbaijan. He pointed out that China has great technological capabilities in this field.

During the conversation, Chinese companies were invited to take part in reconstruction activities in the liberated lands.

The Special Representative noted that China supports territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.

The head of state hailed participation of Wu Hongbo in the Global Forum to be held in Baku, and expressed confidence that his visit would contribute to expansion of bilateral ties.

The Special Representative of the Chinese Government on European Affairs underlined that the Nizami Ganjavi International Center has already become one of the internationally recognized centers where important issues of international peace and security agenda are discussed. Wu Hongbo wished the Center every success in its future activities.

They exchanged views on the further expansion of economic, humanitarian and tourism cooperation, noted the existence of great opportunities for the development of bilateral relations, and stressed the importance of enhancing contacts among media, research centers and peoples.