Editor's note: Deputy of the Milli Majlis, Member of the New Azerbaijan Party's Inspection Commission, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor.
The first strategic goal included the complete abolition of poverty in the country and the formation of a moderately wealthy society. The time period for the realization of this strategic goal was planned for the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the ruling party. This strategic goal was fully realized in 2021.
The second strategic goal is related to the establishment of a modernized state. The deadline for achieving this goal is 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Consistent, purposeful and systematic steps are being taken in the country to implement the next strategic goal. First of all, this is reflected in the titanic activity of ensuring dynamic economic development and long-term stability in society under the leadership of the CPC. In many cases, the activity of the CPC, due to its enormous scale, exceeds the borders of the state and has a global content. In this regard, the views expressed by the Chairman of the People's Republic of China and General Secretary of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping at the 20th Congress of the Party on October 16, 2022 reflect the full reality: "The Chinese Communist Party not only strives for the happiness of the Chinese people and the revival of the Chinese nation, but also strives for the progress of mankind and the glorious unity of the world."
For the implementation of these strategic tasks, the PRC has a strong leader and leading party, enormous economic potential and human resources, political will, a mobilized society and great military might.
In a reality where there is a severe global leadership deficit in our modern world, Xi Jinping, Chairman of the CPC, is a wise leader who has managed to usher "Socialism with Chinese characteristics into a new era of development" over the past 12 years. Based on the concept of "One state, two systems", he conducts an independent policy and sets an example of protecting the national interests of his state at the highest level. He advocates a multipolar world rather than a unipolar one. Hegemonic states and coalitions of states are not accepted. He adheres to the line of not joining any military bloc. He defines his country's partners, rivals and enemies in accordance with the behavior of states in relation to the idea of "One China". "Soft power" draws the contours of international political behavior based on the management method.
According to China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023 was 126.06 trillion yuan (about $17.71 trillion). China's share in the world economy is 18.5%. The average annual economic growth is 7.2%. China, which ranks first in the world in wheat production, has reliably ensured food security for its 1.4 billion people. We can say the same about energy security. China is the world leader in foreign exchange reserves. The number of Internet users in the country has reached 1.03 billion people. This fact itself can be considered an important indicator of China's democratic development.
The PRC is the main economic and trade partner of more than 140 countries and regions.
Among these countries, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the leading state of the South Caucasus region, has a special place and importance. Official Baku-Beijing relations have a dynamic pace of development against the background of historical tradition and modern geopolitical realities.
2500 years ago, cultural and commercial relations between our peoples were formed through the historical "Silk Road". The historical connection between our peoples was also reflected in the works written by the great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi in the 12th century. Nizami Ganjavi, a great master of words, expressed his great respect and admiration for the Chinese people in his poem "Seven Beauties" with the description of "Chinese Beauty".
On December 27, 1991, the PRC, one of the first states to recognize Azerbaijan's independence, established diplomatic relations with our country on April 2, 1992. The qualitative change in our bilateral relations took place after the great leader Heydar Aliyev returned to power for the second time. In March 1994, President Heydar Aliyev paid his first official visit to the PRC. Within the framework of the visit, 8 agreements were signed, which create an important legal and normative base of bilateral relations.
The atmosphere of cooperation and friendship characteristic of official Baku-Beijing relations was further developed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and raised to the level of strategic partnership. The positions of both states and their leaders in fundamental issues completely coincide. Azerbaijan accepts the idea of "One China" and fully supports it in both bilateral and multilateral formats. The PRC also takes a similar position on issues of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and supports our righteous cause everywhere and at all times. By the way, let's also note that the fact of personal friendly relations between the leaders of both states is one of the decisive factors affecting the development of relations between our states and peoples.
Today, Baku-Beijing relations have a steady pace of development in all parameters. Our political relations are at a high level. President Ilham Aliyev's business visit to China in 2014, especially his state visit to this country on December 11, 2015 at the official invitation of PRC President Xi Jinping, laid the foundation for a new stage in the history of our bilateral relations. 10 important documents signed during the visit have opened a new window of opportunity for the future development of our bilateral relations. In particular, the "Joint Declaration on the further development and deepening of friendly relations and cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the People's Republic of China" signed by the leaders of both countries, Mr. Ilham Aliyev and Mr. Xi Jinping, can be considered a "roadmap" for the development of our bilateral relations in all directions.
In addition, the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the joint promotion of the establishment of the Silk Road Economic Belt" signed during the visit is an indicator of official Baku's attitude towards China's unique initiative. In this regard, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that "Azerbaijan fully supports China's One Belt, One Road initiative. There are very good opportunities for cooperation in the field of transport between Azerbaijan and China."
President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping expressed his high confidence in President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev within the framework of that visit: "Mr. President is an old friend of the Chinese people. You are constantly making efforts for the development of China-Azerbaijan relations," he said, adding that "for many years, China and Azerbaijan have been developing bilateral relations in the spirit of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect, and on matters of vital importance and serious concern they strongly support each other. Mutual trust in the political sphere is constantly strengthened, multi-planned cooperation is constantly deepening. There is a solid foundation and wide prospects for friendly and cooperative relations between our countries."
President Ilham Aliyev, for his part, touched on the important role played by Mr. Xi Jinping in world politics and his good attitude towards Azerbaijan and emphasized that "We are bound by strong relations. We cooperate as friends and partners in a number of areas. I know that you have a good attitude towards our country. They know you very well in Azerbaijan, they value you highly for the role you play in global issues, as well as for your kind attitude towards Azerbaijan."
It should be noted that Mr. Ilham Aliyev was the only head of state from the South Caucasus region who participated in the 2nd One Belt, One Road International Cooperation Forum held in Beijing on April 25-27, 2019. President Ilham Aliyev drew attention to the importance of the unique project authored by the People's Republic of China in his speech within the framework of the third session of the Forum dedicated to the theme "Promotion of green and sustainable development to implement the UN 2030 Agenda" and declared that One Belt, One Road is not just a transport project, it is a project for peace, security and cooperation.
Against the background of the above-mentioned realities, very fertile conditions have been created for the development of the political dialogue environment between the two parties. The New Azerbaijan Party, which Heydar Aliyev, the genius of our time, the founder of our country, called "the party of yesterday, today and the future", and President Ilham Aliyev called "the people's party", and the Communist Party of China, which President Xi Jinping characterized as "the leading political force", have formed sincere friendship and reliable partnership relations. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of cooperative relations between NAP (New Azerbaijan Party) and CPC. The foundation of inter-party cooperation relations was laid with the visit of the leadership of the Eurasian Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to our country on December 20-21, 1999 to participate in the first congress of the New Azerbaijan Party.
The fact that does not need proof is that the rapprochement and deepening of cooperation between the two parties was possible thanks to the political will of the heads of states. Both parties, relying on the people and mobilizing all their strength to fulfill the strategic tasks facing the state, are signing historic achievements and this process has a continuous content.
NAP, headed by President Ilham Aliyev, as the ruling political force, played an exceptional role in the creation of a mobilized society and civil solidarity in our country, in the rise of its economic power, in the formation of a strong army, as well as in becoming a reliable partner in the international world.
Against the background of all these listed realities, under the leadership of the victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, the invincible Azerbaijani Armed Forces, of which we celebrate the 106th anniversary, together with our people, who have turned into an "iron fist", achieved a historic Victory, liberated our occupied lands within 44 days, restored our territorial integrity and ensured our sovereignty. On September 19-20 last year, as a result of a one-day anti-terrorist operation, our sovereignty over our territories was completely, definitively and forever ensured.
Historical justice has been restored. Armenian separatism has been eradicated. Unique opportunities for stability and peace have emerged in the region. The process of restoration and reconstruction of the historical Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions freed from occupation is being successfully continued. So far, 12 billion manats have been spent on these purposes. In the budget of the current year, additional 5 billion 160 million manats have been allocated for the implementation of this strategic task.
It is gratifying that the famous Huawei company of China, which is a friendly country and strategic partner, is closely involved in the implementation of the "smart village" and "smart city" projects in Karabakh, which has already been liberated from occupation, and makes its worthy contribution to the restoration and reconstruction process. The CPC acts as the inspiration and guiding force of this contribution.
It is no coincidence that in February 2021, taking into account the strong friendship and cooperative relations between the Chinese Communist Party and the New Azerbaijan Party, as well as the special attitude towards Azerbaijan, a decision was made by the CPC Central Committee to give 10 thousand doses of vaccine to the NAP. At the same time, the decision emphasized that the vaccines would be given free of charge for the purpose of helping the New Azerbaijan Party, and if necessary, the amount of the dose could be increased. In our opinion, this step taken by the CPC is above all praise.
The atmosphere of cooperation between the NAP and the CPC, which are the basis of the political system of both friendly countries, is being developed within the framework of mutual visits, conferences and contacts in video format. As a result, the communication of officials of both parties in various formats serves the interests of further enrichment of inter-party dialogue and successful resolution of issues of mutual interest.
Azerbaijan-China economic and trade relations are developing rapidly. These relations were further strengthened thanks to joint cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the activities of the Azerbaijan-China intergovernmental trade and Economic Cooperation Commission, projects implemented with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Azerbaijan's accession to China's One Belt, One Road Initiative, cooperation within the East-West and Middle Corridor projects, as well as the opening of the Azerbaijan Trade House in Beijing.
It is no coincidence that in 2023, China settled in the 4th position in the trade cycle of Azerbaijan. In that year, the value of goods and products exported from Azerbaijan to China was 63.5 million dollars. Azerbaijan's import from China was equal to 1 billion 556.2 million dollars. In other words, China accounts for 15.4% of the goods imported to Azerbaijan. 275 companies with Chinese investment are registered in our republic. From 1995 to now, China's direct investments in Azerbaijan amounted to 920 million dollars.
In 2023, President Ilham Aliyev, who gave an interview to the Chinese media corporation China Media Group, noted that "relations between the two countries are at an excellent level... We see an increase in the volume of mutual trade, and great potential is obvious. We see new transport routes that will further connect our countries. This will be a great contribution to regional security and stability". The head of state also specifically noted that China was the only country that helped Azerbaijan in acquiring vaccines when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Azerbaijan-China cultural relations are also developing. According to the relevant agreement on cultural cooperation between Azerbaijan and China, an exhibition of the works of the famous Azerbaijani artist Sattar Bahlulzade was held at the Beijing International Exhibition Center on April 12-21, 1995.
The tradition of twinned cities is also characteristic of Azerbaijan-China cultural relations. In 2001, the city of Chuzhou in China's Jizian Province and the Azerbaijan city of Sumgait were twinned.
On August 10, 2008, an Azerbaijan Day was held in Beijing as part of the 29th Summer Olympic Games, Azerbaijan Culture Days were held in China in May 2011, and Chinese Culture Days were held in Azerbaijan on December 10-14, 2012. In addition, in November 2019, a concert called Azerbaijani Music Evenings was organized in Beijing with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in China.
Currently, there are two Confucius Institutes in Azerbaijan. As a gift of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the bust of the genius Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi is displayed in a permanent status in the building of the secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which can be considered as an indicator of the high level of our bilateral cultural relations.
Thus, the above analysis of the high-level relations formed between the PRC, one of the superpowers of the world, and the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has become a regional power center, once again confirms that the friendship and brotherhood of our political leaders, peoples, states and ruling political parties are the fundamental reasons behind all the successes we have achieved and aimed for.
The strengthening of the multifaceted local, regional and global security environment, the welfare and progress of our peoples necessitates more successful perspectives of Azerbaijan-China strategic partnership. This is the call of time.
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