President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Editor-in-Chief of Xinhua News Agency of the People’s Republic of China He Ping, who has a ministerial status.

The head of state hailed Xinhua`s good cooperation with Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC). The President expressed his confidence that the visit of the delegation will contribute to the expansion of this cooperation. Pointing out very successful development of China-Azerbaijan relations, President Ilham Aliyev recalled his official visit to the People’s Republic of China. The head of state emphasized that the trip yielded very good results. The President underlined very good opportunities for developing trade relations between the two countries, saying practical work is being carried out in order to increase mutual export. Praising great potential for tourism cooperation, President Ilham Aliyev noted that Chinese citizens can easily visit Azerbaijan with e-visas. The head of state underlined news agencies’ and media’s vital role in developing tourism. President Ilham Aliyev also hailed the successful cooperation between the two countries in transport field, emphasizing an increase in the number and volume of products exported from China to the world markets via the territory of Azerbaijan.

On behalf of the Chinese delegation, Editor-in-Chief of Xinhua He Ping thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the reception. He described this as an indicative of great significance attached to the development of Azerbaijan-China bilateral relations. Xinhua Editor-in-Chief He Ping praised the rapid ongoing development processes he saw in Azerbaijan. The editor-in-chief noted that President Ilham Aliyev’s meeting with Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping and the cooperation agreements signed during his visit to China in 2015 gave great impetus to the development of bilateral relations between the two countries. He noted that thanks to the activities of the heads of state, Azerbaijan-China relations have been successfully developing in recent years.

Pointing out his meetings in Azerbaijan, He Ping noted the importance of documents on cooperation signed between Xinhua and AZERTAC. He noted the significance of further expanding this cooperation.

Xinhua editor-in-chief noted that they familiarized themselves with the activities of the Chinese companies operating in Azerbaijan. He hailed the rapid development of bilateral relations between the two countries under China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative.