Customs staff members check the first "Qilu" freight train running from Jiaozhou, east China's Shandong province to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan in Jiaozhou, Jan. 31, 2021. A freight train carrying 100 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers' goods such as tires and air conditions left Jiaozhou on Sunday, marking the launch of "Qilu" freight train services from Jiaozhou to Baku. (Photo by Xie Hao/Xinhua)

Trade and e-commerce representatives from China and Azerbaijan expressed willingness to further promote economic cooperation between the two countries during the 9th meeting of Azerbaijan-China Intergovernmental Trade-Economic Cooperation Commission held in Shanghai on Monday.

Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Azerbaijan economy and trade have developed healthily with the digital economy and green cooperation continuing to deepen, China's Vice Commerce Minister Ling Ji said, according to the website of China's Ministry of Commerce.

Cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises and local governments of the two countries is becoming increasingly active, and the potential of cross-border transportation and regional connectivity is constantly being unleashed, Ling said.

China is willing to expand imports from Azerbaijan, encourage enterprises to invest in the Central Asian country, as part of pragmatic efforts to improve the level of economic and trade cooperation between the two nations, according to the Chinese official.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to cooperation with China and hopes to further expand exports to China, Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev said. Chinese companies are welcomed to invest in Azerbaijan, Mustafayev added.

The two countries could strengthen cooperation in the new-energy sector, and promote the joint construction of trans-Caspian international transportation corridor, Mustafayev said.

According to an official announcement made at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing in October, China will participate in the construction of the trans-Caspian international transportation corridor and collaborate on a new logistics corridor across the Eurasian continent linked by direct railway and road transportation, as the country pledged to build a multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network.

China-Azerbaijan bilateral trade s increased by 18 percent in 2022, official data showed, despite unfavorable factors such as the instability of the global industrial chain and supply chain, proving that bilateral trade ties are firm and stable.

China mainly exports carbon-based electronics, broadcasting equipment and computers to Azerbaijan, while imports crude petroleum, ethylene polymers, and propylene polymers from the Central Asian country.

A delegation consisting of heads of government agencies under the leadership of Mustafayev is now attending the ongoing China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai.

Global Times