YEREVAN. - Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan on Monday received the delegation headed by the Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, Qian Keming.

The PM expressed satisfaction with the high level of the Armenian-Chinese cooperation and the readiness of both sides to deepen it, the proof of which is the recent frequent high-level mutual visits.  

Abrahamyan noted that China is a friendly country and important partner for Armenia. In his words, the bilateral trade and economic relations are dynamically developingm the volume of bilateral trade turnover having significantly increased in the recent years. In this context, the PM underscored the importance of the work carried out by the Armenian-Chinese joint commission on trade and economic cooperation, whose subsequent 9th session took place in Yerevan on Monday (Qian Keming is the Chinese side Co-President of the Commission).

For his part, the Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce noted that Armenia and China are not only good friends, but also reliable partners and the present stable political dialogue enables to bring the cooperation to a new level. According to Qian Keming, the Armenian-Chinese trade and economic ties are developing efficiently, and there is a great potential for their further deepening. The Vice Minister briefed Abrahamyan on the results of the 9th session of the Commission, noting that the further steps aimed at implementing the arrangements reached between the supreme leadership of both states on deepening the cooperation in several spheres were identified and discussed. 

The interlocutors expressed satisfaction with the implementation of joint projects in the areas of road construction, agriculture, tourism, education and other fields and discussed issues related to the deepening of cooperation aimed at the development of the aforementioned spheres, as well as mining, power production, food industry and transportation infrastructure of regional significance.

Reference was also made to the cooperation in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Mr Keming attached importance to the role of Armenia in the development of China-EAEU ties. In response, PM Abrahamyan noted that Armenia welcomes and is ready to support that process. According to him, China is an important partner for Armenia, and the government welcomes the large-scale Chinese investments in the country’s economy.