X
|
The digest covers China’s political, diplomatic, economic and other activities in the South Caucasus region and relations between China and the South Caucasus countries. It relies on a wide variety of sources, including the Chinese media. It is worth noting that the Chinese media is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (according to the World Press Freedom Index China is nearly at the bottom of the list and ranks 177th out of 180 countries)
Read full publication: Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister attends 2022 Beijing Olympics On January 28, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reported that from February 4 to 6, CCP’s Chairman Xi Jinping would attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, hold a welcoming banquet for foreign heads of state and other officials attending the opening ceremony and have “relevant bilateral activities”. Foreign officials attending the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Olympics included Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov.
Georgian Ambassador to China is “pretty sure“ that the Chinese government will host “the most successful games in history“
Archil Kalandia. Source: China Daily On January 30, the Georgian Ambassador to China Archil Kalandia sent a congratulatory video message to China regarding the Spring Festival and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, China Daily reported. “I am pretty sure that the government of People’s Republic of China and the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games will host the most successful games in history,“ Kalandia said about the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Azerbaijani Ambassador to China praises the 2022 Beijing Olympics
‘The Beijing Winter Olympics will soon begin, Azerbaijan's Ambassador sends Winter Olympics blessings’. Akram Zeynalli. Source: Sina “This is a historical moment, not only for China but all of the world,“ Azerbaijani Ambassador to China said about the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, “because despite the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic is still continuing, the Chinese government decided not to postpone the Winter Olympic Games. So that’s why first of all I would like to commend and applaud this decision. Because as President Xi Jinping stated China and especially Beijing will host very safe, very splendid, streamlined Olympic Games. And China will not spare efforts for hosting this great event,“ Sina published his address on January 30. The Ambassador also praised the 2008 Beijing Olympics and added: “There is no doubt that Beijing 2022 will be one of the greatest Winter Olympic Games.”
China-Armenia International Art Exhibition held in the Armenian Embassy in China
Sergey Manassarian. Source: www.theyuxin.com On January 24, the China-Armenia International Art Exhibition was held at the Armenian Embassy in China, Chinese media reported. Armenian Ambassador to China Sergey Manassarian said that the theme of this exhibition was “great beauty without boundaries, together building the future“, and noted that it stuck closely to the concept of “community with shared future for mankind“ advocated by CCP’s Chairman Xi Jinping. He said that in the future, the two countries would launch more exchange and celebration activities.
Chinese think tank representative spreads disinformation about the Russo-Georgian War of 2008 On January 27, Chinese state media newspaper Global Times published disinformation by an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yang Jin, about the Russo-Georgian War of 2008. While discussing the Ukraine situation and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Yang said that he hoped the situation in Georgia during the Beijing Olympics 2008 would not happen again: “At that time, the then Georgian government believed it had support from the US to provoke Russia and then received Russia’s counter-attack“.
Opening of regional communications to give Armenia rail access to various counties, including China, Pashinyan says After reaching an agreement with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to launch the construction of the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway, on January 24 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said: “If it manages to open the communications in the region, including the Armenia-Turkey border, Armenia will get a railway connection with Russia, Europe, Iran, China with all ensuing economic consequences“.
Georgia and China to have a new agenda of cooperation in cultural and educational fields, Georgian Ambassador says On January 28, Chinese state-run web portal China Internet Information Center published an interview with Georgia’s Ambassador to China Archil Kalandia where the Ambassador talked about Georgia-China relations and once again praised the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Kalandia announced that in the coming years they would have a new agenda of cooperation in cultural and educational fields: “I would like to mention that our cultural ties and cooperation in the field of education is developing very actively and in the coming years we [will] have a new agenda of cooperation in this direction and with our Chinese colleagues we will achieve concrete results“. The Ambassador also said that Georgia was actively involved in the Belt and Road Initiative - “I’m pretty sure that in various directions, and mostly our trade and economic cooperation, will strengthen and deepen in the coming years“. “Georgia and China are reliable partners and strong friends,“ said Kalandia, adding that he was very pleased that more and more Georgian companies were entering the Chinese market. On 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Kalandia once again commented positively: “I truly believe that Beijing Winter Olympics will be one of the [most] successful Olympics ever hosted, and also, Beijing is also going to write history because this city will be the first-ever city to organize both editions, winter and summer Olympic Games“.
Armenian Ambassador: China is important for our foreign policy
Sergey Manassarian. Source: China Internet Information Center On January 27, Chinese state-run web portal China Internet Information Center published an interview with the Armenian Ambassador to China Sergey Manassarian, where he discussed Armenia-China relations and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The Ambassador also talked about Armenia-China relations, and noted that relations with China were for Armenia an important part of its foreign policy. On the future cooperation prospects for Armenia-China relations, the Ambassador said: “If we are talking about the potential and the future development, I would like to focus my attention on the economic ties, of course. We have not bad results in a turnover, for example, but we are also waiting for Chinese investments“. “The Armenian Ambassador characterized preparation works by China for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as a “fantastic result“. “We are waiting for a fantastic and spectacular show... I hope and believe that the Beijing Winter Olympic games will be 100% successful and safe,“ Sergey Manassarian added. While answering the question about the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics he said that the principles of the Olympics “strongly refused the idea of any kind of political boycotts and discrimination including diplomatic boycott“.
Beijing Olympics to support the initiative of a “community with shared future“, Chinese Ambassador to Georgia wrote in an article On January 28, Chinese Ambassador to Georgia Li Yan published an article in GT Media entitled “With the hope of the future of the world, you are invited to the Winter Games in Beijing“. According to the Ambassador, the Beijing Winter Olympics will support the initiative of a “community with shared future [for mankind]“ in “a sports language and spirit understandable by the whole world“. “The world is looking to China with expectation, and China is ready,“ Li Yan added.
Chinese state media newspaper report contains disinformation about the Russo-Georgian War of 2008 A January 24 report by the Chinese state media, newspaper Global Times, contained disinformation about the Russo-Georgian War of 2008. According to the report, “the experts“ stressed that “the US and its followers are “more likely to launch conflicts and Russia is more likely to be the one who is forced to react if the conflicts escalate, similar to what happened in Georgia during the Beijing Olympics 2008“.
Zangezur Corridor to form the shortest land route between China and Southern Europe, Azerbaijani official says On January 27, Adviser to the Digital Development and Transport Minister of Azerbaijan Aida Badalova said that transport infrastructure restoration projects in the regained territories of Azerbaijan would expand the transit capabilities of the region and Azerbaijan, “in the context of the construction of the Zangezur Corridor“ which would “provide a direct land connection to Nakhchivan“ and “form the shortest land route between China and Southern Europe“.
TRACECA corridor aimed at becoming a bridge between Europe and Asia, the economies of China and Europe, TRACECA representative says On January 24, Permanent Representative (National Secretary) of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Commission (PS IGC) Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) in Azerbaijan Rufat Bayramov said that the TRACECA corridor was “aimed at becoming a bridge between Europe and Asia, the economies of China and Europe“, and that the Permanent Secretariat was focused “on containerization, the use of digital technologies, the simplification and acceleration of border crossing processes“.
Georgia bought most computers from Hong Kong and China According to Geostat, in 2021 the import of computers broke the record in Georgia, CBW reported on January 28. In 2021, Georgia bought computers worth $147,680 million, which was almost 128% more than the previous year. Hong Kong was the top import partner for Georgia from which computers were imported ($ 58.378 million), while mainland China was the second-largest import partner ($ 27,591 million).
Azerbaijan and Georgia play key roles in BRI, the CEO of the Hualing FIZ in Georgia says
Soso Nibladze. Source: Azernews Azerbaijan and Georgia play key roles within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, said the CEO of the Hualing Free Industrial Zone Soso Nibladze, Azernews reported on January 27. He noted that such platforms as free industrial zones were no less important when it came to projects that deal with trade turnover. Nibladze also said that one of the most important initiatives of 2021 was a project related to wood processing and furniture production, developed together with investors from Canada and China. According to him, the initial budget for this project was $1.5 million, and it was planned to increase it to $7 million. Nibladze added that soon, a Chinese company would begin production and export of ferroalloys and silicon metal at the Hualing FIZ, and that the total volume of the investments amounted to $5 million.
Pragmatic cooperation with Georgia within the BRI is getting stronger, Chinese Ambassador to Georgia says On January 27, Chinese Ambassador to Georgia Li Yan gave an interview to Georgia’s news outlet MCM where she discussed Georgia-China relations, 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Covid-19 pandemic, China’s economy, and the Spring Festival. The Ambassador said that during the 30 years after establishing China-Georgia diplomatic relations, they were developing in a stable manner and political trust was constantly growing: “we respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and the path of development chosen by each other independently“. She also noted that the pragmatic cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative and other areas was getting stronger. “We are ready to continue to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation with the Georgian side, joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and business cooperation in various fields, to strengthen the role of the Free Trade Agreement, to strengthen people to people and cultural ties and friendship between the Chinese and Georgian peoples,“ Li Yan said.
Chinese Ambassador to Armenia attended the online award ceremony for the Understanding China contest
Fan Yong. Source: Chinese Embassy in Armenia On January 27, the Chinese Embassy in Armenia and Armenian State News Agency held an online award ceremony for the Understanding China contest. Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Fan Yong attended the event and delivered a speech. “Standing at a new historical starting point, I hope that everyone will make concerted efforts to push forward China-Armenia friendly and cooperative relations to a new level,“ the Chinese Embassy in Armenia wrote.
Chinese Ambassador attended the event of the Confucius Institutes in Azerbaijan
Guo Min. Source: Chinese Embassy in Azerbaijan On January 28, Chinese Ambassador to Azerbaijan Guo Min attended the online event “Welcome to the Spring Festival and Celebrate the Winter Olympics“ held by the Confucius Institutes at the Baku State University and the University of Languages in Azerbaijan. The Ambassador said that China was willing to take the Beijing Winter Olympics as an opportunity to further deepen exchanges and cooperation in the field of sports between China and Azerbaijan and push forward China-Azerbaijan “friendly and cooperative relations“ to a higher level.
Georgian Embassy promotes Georgian wine at a large Chinese platform On January 26, the Georgian Embassy in China posted a promotional video of Georgian wine that was published by “one of the largest online platforms in China“, JD.com. The Ambassador of Georgia to China Archil Kalandia took part in it.
Georgian Public Broadcaster advertisement for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics On January 26, Georgian Public Broadcaster, First Channel of Georgia published an advertisement for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The advertisement said that the whole world was impatiently looking forward to the Beijing Winter Olympics. “Together with a shared future,“ it added, the official motto of the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Another 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics promotion event was held in Azerbaijan On January 28, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games promotion event was held at the 238th School in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event was jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan’s National Olympic Committee.
Confucius Institute at the Free University of Tbilisi and Zhengzhou University cooperation With the co-organization by the Confucius Institute at the Free University of Tbilisi, 50 students and pupils took part in the international online course on Chinese language and culture of China’s Zhengzhou University. The closing ceremony of the course was held on January 29. Directors of the Confucius Institute at the Free University of Tbilisi thanked the partner university for co-organizing the online course and noted that the course provided a rare opportunity for participants to get closer to “Chinese culture, history and modern technology”. |
