China and Azerbaijan will announce the upgrade of bilateral relations to strategic partnership in a joint statement, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday when meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The two leaders met in Astana on the sidelines of the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Calling the upgrading of ties a new starting point, Xi stressed that the two sides will surely continue to make efforts to increase mutual support for the betterment of the two peoples.
He pointed out that China and Azerbaijan are good friends who trust each other with all sincerity and are good partners pursuing mutual benefit.
Bilateral relations have always developed healthily and stably, and cooperation between the two countries has achieved fruitful results with richer strategic connotations, Xi added.
