Azerbaijan is of strategic importance for China, as the country plays an important role in the effective functioning of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor), the head of the A+Analytics Research Center (Kazakhstan), Farhad Kasenov, told Report, commenting on the results of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in Astana.
The expert noted that Beijing views Baku as a key partner, so it is natural that the PRC leadership supported raising Azerbaijan’s status to an observer within the SCO with the prospect of future membership in this organization.
“A positive result, without a doubt, is the signing on the sidelines of the SCO summit of a joint declaration on the establishment of a strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and China, especially since the chairmanship of the SCO next year passes to the PRC. A number of parallel events are planned both in China and Azerbaijan, economic interaction is being strengthened in every possible way,” Kasenov said.
He noted that the SCO summit held on July 3-4 in Astana was very productive.
“The composition of the SCO member countries has expanded significantly from five to ten, and now the Republic of Belarus has joined the SCO. A number of documents have been signed, and out of 25, two can be highlighted in particular, taking into account the impact this may have on issues of energy security in Europe and the world in general. This is the SCO Development Strategy until 2035 and the Strategy for the Development of Energy Cooperation of the SCO Member States until 2030," he added.
