BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. Azerbaijan-China conference on trade and economic cooperation concluded in Baku, Trend reports.
The event attended by first-level bureau-level official of the Guangdong Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Trade (CCPIT Guangdong) Bai Mingshao, Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Elnur Aliyev, Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Lin Keqing, Chinese Ambassador to Azerbaijan Lu Mei, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alat Free Economic Zone Management Organization (AFEZ) Valeh Alasgarov, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency of Azerbaijan (KOBIA) Orkhan Mammadov.
The event led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between CCPIT Guangdong and AZPROMO.
Adressing the event, First Deputy Minister of Economy Elnur Aliyev informed that about 300 Chinese companies operate in Azerbaijan as of May 1 of this year.
"We invite Chinese companies to develop liberated territories. These territories have great economic and tourism potential. Application of Chinese technological solutions in the process of reintegration of these territories will be beneficial for both sides."
Over the past 5 years, our non-oil and gas sector has grown by 26 percent and the value added created in the non-oil and gas industry has increased by 1.5 percent. Taking our relationship to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership offers great opportunities for expanding trade. China has become Azerbaijan's fourth largest trade partner. Thus, in January-April 2025, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and China increased by 37 percent and amounted to $1.4 billion. It surpassed the US dollar. Azerbaijani trade and wine houses are already operating in Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi, Qingdao, Chengdu, Nanjing and Zhanjiajie in China. Azerbaijan Trade House is also active on JD.com, a popular e-commerce platform in China. “These centers contribute to the development of our bilateral trade relations,” he said.
In turn, the Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Lin Keqing stated that China and Azerbaijan announced the establishment of a strategic partnership last July. In April this year, the heads of state of the countries reached an agreement and made a decision to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership.
'‘This is not only the fruit of many years of friendly relations between the two countries, but also the beginning of a new page in trade and economic cooperation,’' he added.
He stated that the cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the One Belt, One Road initiative has already yielded serious results: "Azerbaijan has become China's largest trade partner in the South Caucasus region. This time the purpose of the Guangdong Province delegation's visit to Azerbaijan is to promote mutual development between Guangdong and Azerbaijan in wider areas and at a higher level. Guangdong Province is the largest province in China in terms of economy, population and foreign trade, and is also a leading region in China's reform and opening-up policy.
'' Let us jointly share the dividends of Guangdong's green transformation and modernization by combining our province's high-quality refining and chemical industries, hydrogen power, new materials and new energy projects.
Third, to continuously expand the scale of trade cooperation between the two regions. As one of China's leading provinces in manufacturing, Guangdong has already formed a modern industrial system based on advanced manufacturing. “All 31 major manufacturing industries are represented in the province, and 9 major industrial clusters such as next-generation electronic information, intelligent home appliances, automobile manufacturing and new energy have been formed.” he noted.
Lin Keqing noted that thousands of businessmen attended the
137th Canton Fair, which was recently held in Guangzhou. He said
280,000 foreign buyers from 219 countries and regions attended the
fair, up 17.3 percent over the same period last year.
"The total value of export contracts at the event amounted to
$25.44 billion, up 3 percent. We hope that bilateral trade with
Azerbaijan will be further strengthened, more high-quality products
from Guangdong will enter the Azerbaijani market, and at the same
time, selected Azerbaijani products such as pomegranates, grape
wine, poultry, hazelnuts and almonds will also be introduced to the
Guangdong market." he stressed.
Chairman of the Management Board of AFEZ Valeh Alaskerov noted that Azerbaijan's Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) is recognized as one of the most attractive free economic zones in the region. I would like to announce plans to offer 60 hectares of land to future investors.
Alaskerov articulated that in the imminent timeframe, an augmented allocation of 138 hectares will be rendered accessible to stakeholders, and within a fiscal year, a comprehensive offering of 364 hectares will be unveiled. He articulated that at present, we possess an aggregate of more than 6,500 hectares of land earmarked for investment opportunities.
Furthermore, Chinese Ambassador Lu Mei emphasized that China-Azerbaijan economic and trade cooperation has shown a positive development trend - bilateral trade has been steadily increasing in recent years, and China has already become Azerbaijan's fourth-largest trading partner and second-largest source of imports.
The official noted that investments between the two countries are steadily increasing.
"Statistics from the Azerbaijani side show that about 300 Chinese companies are operating in Azerbaijan, and the volume of Chinese investments in the country has exceeded $900 million. The volume of Azerbaijani investments in China is about $300 million.
Currently, the Chinese and Azerbaijani sides are not only satisfied with implementing specific projects in the fields of building materials, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure coordination, agricultural equipment, telecommunications, and technology but are also actively promoting cooperation in new areas such as wind energy, solar energy, and new energy vehicles," Mei also said.
The ambassador also noted that there is great potential to further enhance the level of China-Azerbaijan economic and trade investment cooperation.
"There is also a need to further expand the volume of bilateral trade and investment, further open up financing channels, and optimize the trade structure. The Chinese side is ready to fully implement the role of the mechanism of the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, together with the Azerbaijani side," she mentioned.
A signing ceremony was held within the framework of the Azerbaijani-Chinese conference on economic and trade cooperation. Azerbaijan's Dream Group Company together with China's Digital Team Technology Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture.
