Chinese president Xi Jinping met with visiting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the northern port city of Tianjin on Sunday morning with the two sides expressing the desire to deepen bilateral cooperation across multiple fields.
Aliyev is in Tianjin to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025, which is running from Sunday to Monday. He will later travel to Beijing to attend a grand military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, which is scheduled for Sept 3.
At the meeting, Xi noted that China and Azerbaijan are good friends and good partners. Over the last 33 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the traditional friendship between the two countries has deepened, political mutual trust has been continuously strengthened, and mutually beneficial cooperation has yielded fruitful results.
In April, the two sides announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership, opening a new chapter in bilateral cooperation. Xi said that China is willing to work with Azerbaijan to maintain the strong momentum of bilateral cooperation and jointly create a future of win-win development.
Xi stressed that the two sides should maintain strategic communication and firmly support each other. He called for enhanced synergy of development strategies, high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and accelerated trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.
Efforts should also be made to improve the efficiency of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, expand cooperation in traditional areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, and energy, and foster new growth points in emerging fields including the digital economy, green development, and artificial intelligence, Xi said. Exchanges in education, science, technology, culture, tourism, youth, and subnational interactions should be further strengthened to consolidate public support for bilateral relations, he added.
China supports Azerbaijan's bid to join the SCO and stands ready to enhance multilateral coordination with Azerbaijan to safeguard the common interests of the Global South and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi said.
For his part, Aliyev noted that the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership reflects the high level of bilateral relations. The two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges, consistently supported each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns, and actively advanced cooperation in various fields, resulting in rapid growth in trade.
Azerbaijan firmly adheres to the one-China principle and opposes Taiwan separatism, said Aliyev, stressing that Azerbaijan is willing to deepen cooperation with China in economy, trade, science and technology, connectivity, tourism, and other areas to deliver more benefits to the peoples of both countries. Azerbaijan also looks forward to enhancing cooperation with China within the SCO framework to jointly promote peace and development in the region and beyond, Aliyev added.
The two sides signed multiple bilateral cooperation documents in areas such as artificial intelligence, sci-tech innovation, finance, and media.
Xi meets Azerbaijani president in Tianjin
