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 175th out of 180 countries)
Read full publication: News from August 17 Two members of European Socialists disavowed the party's pro-Beijing statement Members of the Georgian parliamentary political party European Socialists, David Zilfimiani and Zaza Mikadze, disavowed the August 5 statement of their party where it "categorically condemned any political provocation directed against China". "On August 5, 2022, the statement against our strategic partner, the USA, was made on behalf of the European Socialists - in particular, in China-US relations an assessment was made against the latter, which casts a shadow on the friendship of our peoples and countries. We, the European Socialists MPs, David Zilfimiani and Zaza (Gela) Mikadze, disavow and cannot share such assessments, which may damage our long-term friendly partnership relations", said the statement reported by netgazeti.ge on August 17. Four European Socialists party members are represented in the Georgian Parliament: Fridon Injia, Avtandil Enukidze, David Zilfimiani and Zaza Mikadze. 22.08.2022 – 28.08.2022 Foreign Relations Committee Chairman of the Georgian Parliament and Chinese Ambassador discussed "recent developments around Taiwan" A photo from the meeting. Source: Parliament.ge The Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia from Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party, Nikoloz Samkharadze, held a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Georgia, Zhou Qian, the Parliament of Georgia reported on August 24. The two sides talked about the development of bilateral relations between Georgia and China, and discussed the issues of the cooperation agenda. They focused on cooperation in trade and economy, tourism and education fields. Reportedly, the parties also discussed "recent developments around Taiwan". "At the meeting, both sides confirmed their unwavering support for the territorial integrity of Georgia and the People's Republic of China and in this regard, their commitment to the fundamental principles of international law," the report said. The Chinese Embassy in Georgia reported that the two sides expressed their willingness to take the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Georgia as an opportunity to continue to work together to build the Belt and Road Initiative and continuously push forward the development of bilateral relations. According to the Georgian side, Georgia will, as always, firmly support the One China principle.
Chinese Ambassador and Armenia's Syunik province representatives discussed cooperation prospects A photo from the meeting. Source: News.am On August 25, news.am reported that the Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Fan Yong visited Armenia's Syunik province. Syunik Deputy Governor Hayk Harutyunyan and the Head of the Syunik province administration met with the Ambassador. The Ambassador said that the goal of the visit was to discuss how to “find the borders of cooperation” between China and Syunik province. "Syunik is an area of importance for the Republic of Armenia, in recent years mining products have the highest percentage in the trade turnover between our two countries, and it is exported mainly from Syunik," he said and noted that new areas of cooperation should also be found. Reportedly, the Embassy was also ready to send investors from China to Syunik. The regional authorities presented to the Chinese side the main directions in which Syunik could cooperate with them. Other issues were also discussed at the meeting, including education, tourism, road construction, twin towns' institutions, local self-government, and the export of local products. The report said that in the future, the sides would "take practical steps to deepen the cooperation with narrower professional groups".
Chinese Embassy and Alat Free Economic Zone representatives discussed ways to attract Chinese investors A photo from the meeting. Source: AFEZ On August 22, Azerbaijan's Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) reported that the delegation of the Embassy of China to Azerbaijan visited the AFEZ construction site, where they had a tour at the construction field and met with the Chairman of AFEZ Authority, Valeh Alasgarov. Reportedly, the two sides discussed ways to attract Chinese investors to AFEZ.
Georgia's Deputy Chairman of Parliament and Chinese Ambassador discuss legislative bodies’ cooperation Zhou Qian and David Sergeenko. Source: Parliament.ge The Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia from Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party, David Sergeenko met with the Chinese Ambassador to Georgia, Zhou Qian, the Parliament of Georgia reported on August 26. The Chinese Embassy in Georgia reported that the two sides expressed their willingness to take the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an opportunity to continue to expand the legislative bodies and pragmatic cooperation in various fields and to continue to promote the development of bilateral relations. According to the Chinese Embassy report, Georgia will, as always, firmly support the One China principle. The Georgian Parliament reported that at the meeting the parties discussed cooperation issues between the two countries and spoke about "the importance" of developing a unified approach to a pandemic response. |