President holds consultation on Armenia-China bilateral cooperation issues

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the People’s Republic of China Sergey Manasaryan presented today to President Serzh Sargsyan a report on Armenian-Chinese relations and, in particular, their economic component, including the ongoing joint programs and achievements, as well as the target areas for further development of interaction.

The meeting was attended by Chief of Staff of the Office of President Armen Gevorgyan, Minister of Economic Development and Investment Suren Karayan, Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrtchyan, Deputy Foreign Ministers Armen Papikyan and Robert Haroutunyan, as well as Presidency officials.

Speaking about the economic component, which has always been high on Armenia’s foreign policy agenda, the President stressed that Armenia’s diplomatic representatives and missions in host countries have the key task of raising awareness of our country’s economic opportunities, especially among the investors. At the same time and in addition, they are supposed to promote Armenia’s economic interests in those countries.

The President asked the Ambassador about progress in the implementation of the agreements reached during Armenia-China high-level meetings and the status of cooperation programs underway in different fields of activity. Serzh Sargsyan especially wanted to know which economic sectors were of interest to Chinese businessmen, which way Armenia could contribute to the “One zone - one way” program, as well as what had been done by Armenia’s Embassy during Ambassador Sergey Manasaryan’s term of office in China.

“Last year we were briefed on the work done in France, Germany, Iran and Austria. In 2016, the position of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs was established to be responsible for bilateral economic relations. I think that in the foreseeable future we should listen to the Deputy Minister’s report on the work done so far,” the President said.

Stressing that Armenia highly values the centuries-old friendly relations with China, President Sargsyan stated with satisfaction that bilateral cooperation has been on the rise since the establishment of diplomatic relations 25 years ago.

“It is obvious that we should prioritize our political and economic relations with China, considering the fact alone that China is Armenia’s second largest trade partner. Indeed, we need to actively work in this direction. Even though the index of bilateral trade turnover is quite high for our economy, however, I believe that the actual potential is much greater.

We dwelt on the need to boost bilateral economic and political relations with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during my official visit to China. These issues were taken up at the meetings held with senior Chinese delegations on visit to Armenia in 2016. I hope that all the agreements reached so far will be materialized and, of course, I am well aware that they are in progress now.

Last year, we attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the school of advanced teaching of Chinese language in Yerevan. The construction is due to be complete by next autumn. I attach great importance to this fact, since the knowledge of language is not only the key to keeping warm political relations, but also to the deepening of economic ties.

We have always enjoyed the support of the government of the People’s Republic of China in the form of technical assistance, which of course is very good, but as much important and necessary is the deepening of economic and business relations with the friendly China.
Of course, we are very much interested in the implementation of the project initiated by President Xi Jinping, referred to as “One zone - one way,” and we must definitely take an active part in it. Chinese companies are already involved in the construction of the North-South Road Corridor, but we must necessarily consider their participation in the State-private sector cooperation format. And I do not rule out that the Chinese companies’ interest to build a section of this road at their own expense can be very realistic resulting in additional investments.

I would like to highlight the importance of our cooperation in the sphere of tourism, where China has huge potential. The fact that we have eased the visa regime for Chinese citizens will go a long way towards activating interaction in this area,” President Sargsyan said opening the meeting.

After hearing Ambassador Sergey Manasaryan’s information and other speakers’ reports on the work done in their respective areas, the President told them to endeavor towards increasing the range and the scope of Armenian exports to China, as well to develop and implement mutually beneficial joint investment projects in Armenia.