China, Azerbaijan elevate partnership

China and Azerbaijan elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership on Wednesday, a move that marks the countries' commitment to enhancing all-around cooperation amid complex changes in the international landscape.

President Xi Jinping and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who started his three-day state visit to China on Tuesday, announced the upgrading of bilateral relations during their talks in Beijing.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of 20 documents on cooperation in areas such as the Belt and Road Initiative, justice, green development, the digital economy, intellectual property rights and aerospace.

During the meeting, Xi highlighted that supporting each other on issues concerning their core interests is not only a fine tradition between China and Azerbaijan, but also a rightful obligation as strategic partners.

Both countries should continuously enhance political mutual trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation and strengthen international coordination to open a new chapter of all-around cooperation, he said.

The two countries are ready to initiate negotiations on a free-trade agreement to provide a high-level institutional safeguard for them to deepen trade and investment cooperation, according to a joint statement on the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Azerbaijan, which was signed by Xi and Aliyev after their talks.

Both sides highly appreciate their cooperation in the field of transportation, and are committed to promoting the construction of transportation infrastructure and enhancing logistics efficiency in order to facilitate mutual connectivity in the region, the statement said.

In the statement, China also expressed its support for Azerbaijan's accession to the World Trade Organization.

Both sides support promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, oppose unilateralism, protectionism and hegemony, oppose actions that undermine international trade rules, and jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system to achieve shared prosperity, the statement said.

Xi told Aliyev that tariff and trade wars undermine the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, hurt the multilateral trading system, and disrupt the world economic order.

China is willing to work with Azerbaijan to safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, firmly protect their respective legitimate rights and interests, and defend international fairness and justice, he said.

Xi also expressed China's support for Azerbaijan in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and in continuing to pursue a development path that suits its national conditions.

China is willing to intensify law enforcement and security cooperation with Azerbaijan to resolutely combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism, he said.

Xi called on both countries to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, enhance the alignment of development strategies, and strengthen people-to-people bonds through educational, cultural, tourism, youth and subnational exchanges.

China has become one of Azerbaijan's key economic partners, with bilateral trade increasing over 43 percent in 2024, amounting to $2.46 billion, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs.

At the recent China-Azerbaijan Industrial and Investment Cooperation Promotion Conference held in Beijing, Azerbaijan signed agreements on 13 projects with Chinese institutions and enterprises, covering areas such as the digital economy, aluminum capacity expansion, and the establishment of agricultural machinery production sites.

During Wednesday's talks, Aliyev hailed the sound development of bilateral ties, saying that despite the profound changes in the international order, Azerbaijan and China have always respected and trusted each other, with cooperation deepening continuously.

He assured Xi that Azerbaijan firmly abides by the one-China principle, insists that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and supports all efforts made by the Chinese government to achieve national reunification.

Aliyev commended Xi's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, saying that the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, all proposed by Xi, are conducive to world peace, stability and prosperity.

Azerbaijan is willing to deepen its comprehensive strategic partnership with China, and expand cooperation with China in areas such as the BRI, the digital economy, green energy, and science and technology, he said.

Aliyev attended separate meetings on Wednesday with Premier Li Qiang, and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

Also on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov signed an agreement on mutual visa exemption for ordinary passport holders, in order to facilitate mutual visits.