To His Excellency Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China

Dear Mr. President,

It is on the occasion of the National Holiday of your country – Establishment Day of the People’s Republic of China that on my behalf and behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I am pleased to offer my sincerest congratulations and best wishes to you, and through you, the friendly people of your country.

Today, China is one of the most dynamically developing countries in the world. Under your resolute and wise leadership, your country's achievements and successes in every field have placed it among the most powerful and advanced nations and solidified further its position in the international arena.

Expanding cooperation with China – a close friend and a reliable partner is one of Azerbaijan’s top foreign policy priorities. I am delighted that Azerbaijan-China relations that enjoy ancient history and fine traditions are developing along an ascending trajectory and our partnership is enriched with new substance from day to day.

I note with pleasure that presently, our bilateral relations have a broad agenda. Our mutually beneficial cooperation in the economy, trade, transportation and logistics, renewable energy, humanitarian, and other domains has clear and promising prospects. Meanwhile, the growth in the volume of cargo shipped westward from China through Azerbaijan is another vivid testimony to our successful engagement within the Belt and Road project.

Chinese companies have long operated successfully in our country and played an essential role in developing our interstate relations. We are looking forward to advancing this cooperation also across the liberated territories.

Azerbaijan has always unequivocally supported the One China policy and China’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. In the meantime, we highly appreciate the support extended by China to our territorial integrity and sovereignty.

I am confident that we will continue successfully our joint efforts in further developing comprehensive Azerbaijan-China relations, deepening our bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and elevating them to the level of strategic partnership, for the sake of the interests of our peoples.

On this festive occasion, I wish you robust health, happiness and success, and everlasting peace and prosperity to the friendly people of China.

Sincerely,

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 30 September 2023