The Current State and Future Potential of Economic Cooperation between China and Azerbaijan within the Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by Chinese government in 2013 to build China’s image internationally and promote development globally. Through this global development strategy, trade, and integration between China and 70 nations are maintained with Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Azerbaijan is one of the countries which participated in the BRI initiative of China, and it has been taking part in successful cooperation on the development of regional transport corridors. Furthermore, Azerbaijan has been the largest partner of China in the South Caucasus in terms of transit, investment and economic matters. This article discusses the present state and future potential of economic affairs between China and Azerbaijan. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and China since Azerbaijan’s participation in the BRI. Therefore, trade and investment data from the two countries have been analyzed. The paper has found out that trade and investment between the two countries have tripled since Azerbaijan’s participation in the BRI. The development of the middle transportation corridor is the prerequisite to China and Azerbaijan’s future comprehensive investment cooperation and economic relations.