Aliyev says relations with China ‘are excellent’ in CGTN interview

In his second interview with Chinese state media in a week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev talked about his recent visit to Beijing, trade and transport cooperation with China, and, on two occasions, tea.

Aliyev’s English-language interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) was published on Sunday.

It was largely focused on his recent visit to Beijing and ties between Azerbaijan and China, with Aliyev echoing many of the same sentiments he had made in his interview with Xinhua, China’s state news agency, on 22 April, a day before his visit kicked off — his first since 2019.

Aliyev praises ties with China ahead of visit to Beijing

In an interview with Chinese media, the Azerbaijani president praised trade and investment ties between his country and China.

OC MediaYousef Bardouka

During the interview with CGTN, Aliyev discussed the strategic partnership declaration he signed with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the volume of trade between the two countries.

Asked what a strategic partnership with China would bring to Azerbaijan, Aliyev praised ties between the two countries, and said that they ‘strongly support each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity’.

‘We strongly support [the] “One China” policy. We were among the first countries, which publicly and openly denounced illegal elections in Taiwan’, he said, adding that the strategic partnership with China is ‘really an important achievement for Azerbaijan’.

‘I can tell you that Azerbaijan signed the Declaration on Strategic Partnership with many countries in our region and also with some European countries, but China is the strongest among them’, he said.

The interviewer then asked Aliyev about his ‘very deep rapport’ with Xi, and how they ‘interact with each other’.

‘At one meeting, he called me a good friend of China. That was kind of an award to me’, responded Aliyev, going on to praise Xi as a ‘very experienced statesman’ and a person he ‘deeply respects’.

Aliyev again said that Azerbaijan was ‘among the first’ countries to join the Belt and Road initiative, a Chinese-led global initiative aimed at developing transport infrastructure — among other projects — to facilitate more Chinese trade globally.

The reporter then asked Aliyev what he would tell his late father, President Heydar Aliyev, about the ‘level of relationship’ between Azerbaijan and China.

Aliyev said that his father’s visit to China was one of his first state visits, and that Baku to this day follows his ‘path, including in our foreign policy priorities’.

‘Among these priorities, China has a special place’, said Aliyev. ‘I think if he could see from heaven where we are now, I think, he would be proud of Azerbaijan and of [the] Chinese–Azerbaijan relationship’.

Aliyev then spoke about Chinese investments in Azerbaijan’s green energy sector, saying that the contacts would give Azerbaijan 6,500 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030.

‘Just for comparison, the total installed capacity of Azerbaijan is 8,000 megawatts’, he said, adding that 6,000 megawatts of the energy would come from solar and wind power.

He also said that Azerbaijan will this year start jointly manufacturing electric buses with China’s BYD at a capacity of 500 buses a year.

Halfway through the interview, the interviewer paused and exclaimed that she was thirsty and suggested that they have a sip of tea.

Aliyev laughed, and the two clinked their teacups, proceeding to briefly talk about tea customs and traditions in Azerbaijan and China, with the reporter segueing into Azerbaijan’s decision to unilaterally exempt Chinese nationals from visa requirements in 2024. Aliyev emphasised that it was the first time Azerbaijan had made such a unilateral decision.

‘Usually we did it on bilateral grounds. But in this case, we did it unilaterally to demonstrate our friendship and openness’, he said, adding that he hoped to see more Chinese tourism in Azerbaijan and vice versa.

Aliyev then revealed that he was visiting China again to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit later this year. He said that developing close ties with the organisation would be beneficial for both Azerbaijan and SCO, ‘because we are on the western side of the Caspian. We are, at the same time, the South Caucasus country with strong political ties with transportation and infrastructure projects’.

He then went on to criticise global unilateralism and spoke about his personal role in defending ‘the interests of the Global South’ during the COP29 summit in Baku in late 2024.

‘And we, in Azerbaijan, consider China as a leader of the Global South’, he said. ‘So this is a special role, which we think China is playing, uniting countries among particularly those principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, the so-called Bandung principles, actually reflect everything you said, plus sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, equality, multilateralism, and no domination by any country or group of countries.’

‘This is a principle that is very close to us, and we defend it by protecting our national interests and being a very active member of the international community’, he concluded.

Aliyev’s official visit was preceded by the Minister of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party Liu Jianchao’s visit to Azerbaijan. Liu’s visit was followed by reports, both by Russian state news agency Sputnik and Azerbaijani pro-government media, that the Chinese minister said that Chinese companies would participate in the construction of the ‘Zangezur corridor’ — a Baku demand for control of a strip of land through Armenia to link mainland Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan.

China’s Charge d’Affaires to Armenia, Chen Ming, refuted the reports to Armenian media on the same day.

China and Azerbaijan agree on a visa-free regime during Aliyev’s visit to Beijing

Azerbaijan also affirmed its non-recognition of Taiwan, and expressed its firm opposition to its independence.

OC MediaAytan Farhadova