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)
Full publication: News from October 2022 China to strive for common development to give China-Azerbaijan and South Caucasus countries more opportunities, Chinese diplomat says Ma Chi. Source: Report On October 17, the Report interviewed the Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Azerbaijan, Ma Chi where he discussed China-Azerbaijan relations. Ma Chi said that Azerbaijan was China's important partner in the joint construction of "One Belt, One Road". "On the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Chinese side is ready to share the development potential with the Azerbaijani side and strive for common development to give our countries and the countries of the South Caucasus more opportunities," he said. The Counselor also noted that China was ready to further expand the scale and improve the commodity structure of the trade, to deepen investment and project cooperation in various areas, "such as alternative and renewable energy sources, processing and production, modern agriculture, digital economy and information technology, and logistics". Also, he pointed out the readiness to expand cooperation in the transport sector. During the interview, Ma Chi emphasized that Azerbaijan's national development strategy, Revival of the Great Silk Road, was fully consistent with the concept of joint construction of "One Belt, One Road". He also said that bilateral cooperation was flourishing in areas such as oil and gas exploration and exploitation, oil and gas services, information and communications, processing and manufacturing, alternative and renewable energy sources, and cross-border transportation. The Chinese Counselor informed the Report that the Chinese companies were investing in the construction of "the largest ceramics production facility in the South Caucasus, providing network infrastructure and advanced smart village solutions in the Zangilan district". He also announced that the two new projects of power plants using alternative and renewable energy sources with a total installed capacity of 470 MW would be launched soon, "the developers of which are Chinese enterprises". At the end of the interview, Ma Chi said that China would work "hand in hand with all countries of the world, including Azerbaijan, to create a community of common destiny for mankind and fight for a more beautiful world".
Azerbaijan and China to cooperate on production of anode blocks A photo from the meeting. Source: Report Azerbaijan Industrial Corporation OJSC and China's Sunstone Development company will cooperate in the production of anode blocks, "which are one of the essential raw materials for the calcination of petroleum coke and aluminum production", the Report wrote on November 18. Reportedly, the management staff of the companies discussed "important issues such as joint activities on the project mentioned above, establishment of long-term cooperation and attraction of investment to Azerbaijan".
21.11.2022 – 27.11.2022 Container shipments from China to Europe through the Middle Corridor increased, Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia says A photo from the meeting. Source: 1TV The Minister of Economy and the Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia Levan Davitashvili said that container shipments from China to Europe through the Middle Corridor increased, Interpressnews reported on November 25. "The Government of Georgia is taking important steps to develop the transport infrastructure, which leads to increasing the efficiency of the transit Middle Corridor. We can see the progress, how compared to 2014 container shipments from China to Europe through the Middle Corridor have increased - the cargo passed through the Middle Corridor and through Georgia exceeded 10,000 TEUs in 2021. However, we believe that we should promote the development of all those corridors that will attract more cargo to our region," Davitashvili said. Reportedly, Davitashvili and the Georgian government delegation participated in the quadrilateral meeting of Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey concerning the development of the Trans-Caspian transport corridor. The meeting was held in Aktau, Kazakhstan. As the report said, the parties agreed to develop the infrastructure components and operational directions of the Middle Corridor. Within the framework of the ministerial meeting, documents were signed regarding specific activities aimed at improving the capacity of the Middle Corridor, in particular, the action plan for eliminating the bottleneck and traffic jam effect of the corridor for the years 2022-2027, 1TV reported.
Chinese Ambassador read congratulatory letter of CCP to Azerbaijan's ruling party
Guo Min at the meeting. Source: The Chinese Embassy in Azerbaijan
The Chinese Ambassador Guo Min was invited to attend the commemorative meeting of the 30th anniversary of the founding of Azerbaijan's ruling party, the New Azerbaijan Party. At the event, the Ambassador read a congratulatory letter from the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese Embassy reported on November 21. According to her speech, the letter said that the Chinese Communist Party and the New Azerbaijan Party had always maintained friendly exchanges playing "an important role in enhancing strategic mutual trust between the two countries" and pushed forward "the development of state relations". "We value the friendship between the two parties and are willing to work together with your party to actively implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and make greater contributions to the development of China-Azerbaijan relations," the letter said.
Armenia's National Assembly member and Chinese Ambassador discuss issues of mutual interest Taguhi Tovmasyan and Fan Yong. Source: Taguhi Tovmasyan/Facebook On November 21, the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs of the National Assembly of Armenia and nonpartisan member of the With Honor faction, Taguhi Tovmasyan, met with the Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Fan Yong. "I had a very important meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Armenia," she wrote on Facebook. Reportedly, in his speech the Ambassador, "touching on the support of China since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and China, reaffirmed his willingness to support Armenians". The report said that they also discussed other issues of mutual interest and stressed that current relations between the two nations were a solid basis for the development of cooperation and implementation of new projects.
Azerbaijani public defender and Chinese Ambassador discuss cooperation development A photo from the meeting. Source: The Commissioner for Human Rights of Azerbaijan The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva received the Chinese Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Guo Min, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan reported on November 24. The Ombudsman emphasized the importance of developing cooperation between Azerbaijan and China "based on the exchange of experience in the field of protection of human rights and freedoms, along with economic, social and cultural relations". It was noted that the Azerbaijani Ombudsperson, who reportedly had established relations with the Ombudsman and human rights institutions operating in China within the framework of the Asian Ombudsman Association, attached great importance to the exchange of experience with these institutions in various fields of human rights. The Ambassador emphasized that the existing cooperation between the Ombudsman institutions within the framework of international cooperation was "commendable". At the end of the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on future cooperation.
In January-October 2022, China was Georgia's third-biggest trading partner In January-October 2022, China was Georgia's third-biggest trading partner with a $1 528.4 million turnover, which amounted to 10% of the total Georgian trade, Geostat reported on November 21. China was Georgia's N1 trading partner by exports with $607.4 million (13.4% of total exports). Compared to the same period in 2021 there was a 16.7% growth. China was the third-biggest import partner of Georgia with $920.9 million, which was 8.6% of total imports, and compared to January-October 2021, that was a 30.5% growth.
Chinese Ambassador meets with Armenia's National Christian Party representatives A photo from the meeting. Source: The Chinese Ambassador to Armenia On November 22, the Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Fan Yong met with the Chairman of Armenia's National Christian Party Ara Zohrabyan and a member Vahagn Chakhalyan at the Chinese Embassy in Armenia, Fan Yong reported.
Chinese Ambassador meets With Honour faction representatives of Armenia's National Assembly A photo from the meeting. Source: The Chinese Ambassador to Armenia On November 23, the Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Fan Yong reported that he had met with the members of the With Honour faction of the National Assembly of Armenia, the Head of the faction Hayk Mamijanyan, the Secretary of the faction Tigran Abrahamyan and its member Taron Margaryan.
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