PNN – Aliyev’s visit to Beijing was accompanied by the upgrading of Azerbaijan-China relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” The main focus is on Baku’s key role in transit corridors (the Middle Corridor) to connect China and Europe, bypassing Russia, and expanding economic cooperation.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the official visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to the People’s Republic of China (April 22-24) and his meeting with President Xi Jinping was a milestone in the consolidation of bilateral partnership, culminating in the signing of an agreement establishing a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” The visit took place at a critical time when the escalation of the trade war between China and the United States has led Beijing to seek alternative transit routes and export destinations.
Azerbaijan’s role as an efficient transit hub between China, Central Asia, and Europe puts it in a prime position to build partnerships with almost all countries in the region.
Baku is simultaneously playing an active role in the China-led Belt and Road Initiative as well as the Middle Corridor project (also of interest to the European Union), demonstrating the depth of the country’s growing ties with both Beijing and Brussels.
Azerbaijan’s multifaceted foreign policy, which focuses on developing trade infrastructure, has strengthened the country’s international standing amid geopolitical changes caused by the Ukraine war and the energy crisis.
The 20.7% growth in trade volume between Azerbaijan and China in 2024 (reaching $3.744 billion and making China Baku’s fourth largest trading partner) also demonstrates the importance and timeliness of upgrading relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership.
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This high-level partnership includes new agreements in key industrial sectors, including oil and gas, renewable energy, petrochemicals, metallurgy, mining, textiles, automotive, building materials, pharmaceuticals, and the food industry.
Important contracts were also signed in the field of new energies, emphasizing Chinese investment in the construction of solar and wind power plants and energy storage systems in Azerbaijan (including the investment of China’s Universal Energy Company in the 100 MW Qobustan solar power plants).
Transportation and Logistics: The Backbone of Relationships
Cooperation in the field of transport and logistics remains an integral part of relations between Azerbaijan and China.
Ilham Aliyev praised the cooperation, noting Azerbaijan’s commitment to increasing the capacity of the Middle Corridor, a route that bypasses Russia and provides an alternative and shorter route to connect China and Europe. (Azerbaijani and Kazakh shipping companies predict that the volume of container traffic in this corridor will reach 96,000 TEU by 2025.)
This partnership has significant benefits for both sides. China gains a reliable and efficient transit route through Azerbaijan to advance its Eurasian economic strategy. In return, Azerbaijan, by attracting Chinese investment and technology, accelerates the diversification of its non-oil economy and strengthens its role in global supply chains.
A bright prospect for cooperation and regional implications
The new comprehensive strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and China paves the way for mutual economic benefits in the medium and long term and lays the foundation for future cooperation.
For Azerbaijan, China is an attractive partner given its financial and technological resources, and deepening ties with Beijing demonstrates Baku’s ambition to lead regional connectivity trends.
For China, too, the partnership means consolidating influence in the South Caucasus and securing access to the only land route to Europe that bypasses Russia. Moscow will undoubtedly be watching Beijing’s expanding footprint in the region closely, as Beijing actively forges new partnerships to find alternative trade routes and energy sources between East and West.