Wang Yi to visit Azerbaijan and three Balkan countries — South China Morning Post
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Azerbaijan, Croatia, Montenegro and Bulgaria from October 14 to 20. In Baku, Azerbaijan, he will take part in the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) as a special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the South China Morning Post reports.
Summit in Baku
According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, Beijing expects to hold a substantive dialogue with all parties on the sidelines of the CICA summit, support a multilateral approach and help improve governance in Asia. She noted that amid an increasingly complex and unstable international and regional situation, Asian countries seek to maintain peace and stability and stimulate economic growth.
During the trip, Wang Yi will meet with the foreign ministers of the states he will visit and will also hold detailed discussions with their leaders, Mao Ning said. This will be the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Azerbaijan in seven years. Wang Yi last visited Bulgaria as foreign minister in 2015.
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Cooperation in the Balkans
The visit to Montenegro will be the first official visit by the head of China's Foreign Ministry since the country gained independence 20 years ago. This year, China and Montenegro are also marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Mao Ning named the North-South Highway in Montenegro among their joint flagship projects.
The trip's route includes important logistics hubs and China's infrastructure partners along the Middle Corridor, or the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. It connects China with European markets via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, bypassing Russia.
Croatia, Montenegro and Bulgaria also cooperate with Beijing under the Belt and Road Initiative. Mao Ning noted that China has substantial cooperation with these countries in trade, investment, tourism and infrastructure. She called the Pelješac Bridge in Croatia, built by a Chinese company, a symbol of cooperation between China, Croatia and Europe.
