Chinese FM satisfied with first official visit to Azerbaijan

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
25 Oct. 2004

Baku, October 23, AssA-Irada

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, who arrived in Baku for his
first official visit on Friday, met with his Azerbaijani counterpart
Elmar Mammadyarov on Saturday. The two ministers held a joint news
conference following the meeting.

The status of political, economic, cultural, educational, tourism
and humanitarian relations between the two countries were discussed
during the meeting, Mammadyarov told the news conference.

Pointing out the high level bilateral relations, Mammadyarov underlined
that both countries have common position on regional issues and
within international organizations. “China supports Azerbaijan’s
right position on the Upper Garabagh conflict,” he noted.

Expressing satisfaction with his first visit to Baku, Zhaoxing called
Azerbaijan a friendly country. Recalling the deep historical roots
of the Azerbaijan-China relations, the Chinese foreign minister said:
“If earlier the Silk Way was connecting our states, today our attempts
to achieve peace and development make our countries closer.”

Assessing late Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev’s visit to China
in 1994 as a successful one, Zhaoxing stressed that relations between
the two countries began to develop rapidly after the visit. “China
and Azerbaijan have common interests in political issues and we always
trust and support each other,” he underlined.

Touching upon bilateral economic relations, the Chinese diplomat said
that there exists great potential to increase goods turnover between
the two countries. He welcomed Chinese business people’s investments
in the Azerbaijani economy.

Speaking about great changes happened in China over the recent years,
Zhaoxing invited Azerbaijani journalists to his country to witness
the changes.*