On April 6th Armenia and China are marking the 32nd anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. On this occasion, NEWS.am publishes the interview with Mr. Fan Yong, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Armenia. The Ambassador has summed up the three decades’ achievements in the relations between the two countries, as well as the prospects of enlarged cooperation in the future. 

Mr. Ambassador, how would you assess the development of relations between China and Armenia over the past 32 years?

On April 6th, China and Armenia will jointly celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, but 32 years is only a brief and beautiful moment in the long history of friendly connections between the two peoples.

According to records, interactions between the two peoples can be traced back as far as around 1000 BC. Chinese cultural symbols are commonly found in ancient Armenian legends and literary works, with the Armenian Bible featuring depictions of the kylin and phoenix. The ancient Silk Road serves as a historic link between China and Armenia, with archaeologists revealing Chinese porcelain in ancient Armenian cities such as Garni, Dvin and Ani. I want to mention that more than 1,000 years ago, Chinese people learned that the Armenian cochineal insects from Armenia could extract red dyes, which was much better than the original red dyes from the plants. And then China introduced cochineal insects from Armenia, which led the exquisite, world-famous silk more and more shining and colorful. This has also become a beautiful and good example of mutual learning between the two ancient civilizations.

Over the past 32 years, since the establishment of diplomatic relations, no matter how the international situation changes, relations between China and Armenia have consistently maintained a healthy development momentum, and friendly cooperation has been the main theme.

Bilateral exchanges have enjoyed a solid foundation. In recent years, the leaders of the two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges through visits, phone calls and letters, and reached important consensus on the development of China-Armenia relations. The exchange and interaction between the governments, political parties, legislative bodies, local governments, university think tanks, and social organizations of both countries are becoming more and more active. Last year, the Defense Minister of Armenia, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, the Minister of Economy, and other representatives visited China. Delegations from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the SCO Committee on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, and other officials visited Armenia successfully. Political consultations between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs of two sides, and the 11th session of the Inter-governmental commissions on trade and economic affairs were successfully held, thus giving new impetus to the development of bilateral relations. Recently, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with the Chinese vice Premier Zhang Guoging in Brussels, and they exchanged views on practical cooperation and regional connectivity.

Practical collaboration has yielded advanced outcomes. Armenia stands as one of the early supporters and participants in the co-construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. Within the framework of BRI, practical collaboration between China and Armenia is developing rapidly. For a long time, China has been Armenia's major trade partner, both in export and import. In 2023, China was Armenia's third-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade between China and Armenia increased by 21.3% to $2.127 billion, accounting for 10.3% of Armenia's total foreign trade. Key joint projects between the two sides are steadily getting advanced. Armenian-Chinese Friendship School has become a symbol of mutual understanding between the two countries.

China is advancing the building of the Armenian public television studio, which, upon completion, will become a new accomplishment of friendly cooperation between the two countries. Cooperating with international organizations such as the World Food Programme, China focusing on "Small but beautiful, improving people's livelihood" projects. For instance, in the village of Lusakert in Shirak Province, China and WFP implemented an agriculture-voltaic project, yielding tangible benefits to local residents while also contributing to economic development and livelihood improvement.

People-to-people exchanges have been boosted. The relationship between countries lies in the mutual affinity between the people, and the mutual affinity between the peoples lies in the mutual understanding of hearts. In Armenia, a growing enthusiasm for learning Chinese and understanding Chinese culture is noticed, referring this phenomenon to as the "Chinese fever." More and more Armenians, especially the young generation, are inclined towards studying Chinese.

The Confucius Institute at the Brusov State University is prospering; three Confucius Classrooms and over ten Chinese teaching centers have been established, with about 5000 registered students. Since the beginning of this year, various events, celebrating Chinese festivals and cultural themes, have been successively organized at school N 135 named after G. Stepanyan, Armenian-Chinese Friendship School, Yerevan State University, school No 55 after A.P. Chekhov, etc, thus, constantly igniting the enthusiasm for Chinese culture. In China, the first Khachaturyan International Youth Music Competition will be hosted soon; it will raise more Chinese teenagers' interest in Armenia's ancient civilization while also creating opportunities to experience Armenia's historical and cultural heritage. "It's better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish". China is committed to share its development experience and industrial technology with developing countries, including Armenia, assisting them to enhance their capacity for independent development. It is noteworthy, that last year, 144 Armenian officials, entrepreneurs, scholars, and other representatives visited China for training and exchange programs, gaining valuable experiences from China in such spheres as economics, people's livelihoods, science and technology, environmental protection, etc. Experts from both sides had in-depth and fruitful exchanges on views. This year, we will continue to enrich the format and content of the training course to further deepen mutual learning and understanding between the two sides.

I would like to note that after 32 years of hard work and advancement, standing on a new historical starting point, China is willing to jointly work with Armenia in pursuit of sincere and fair friendship as well as mutually beneficial partnership, while also to inherit and move forward friendly relations from generation to generation, to advance the collaboration in a variety of fields and jointly write a new chapter of friendship between the two countries in the new era.

Presently, Chinese companies' interest in Armenia is increasing. How would you assess the potential for the development of Chinese-Armenian relations?

I believe that the capacity for practical cooperation between the two countries is mainly highlighted in the following three aspects.

Firstly, we should jointly promote infrastructure construction. In recent years, the Armenian government has attached great importance to the construction of infrastructure in such areas as water reservoirs, transportation, energy, and communications, as it aligns with China's global development initiatives and the Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese-style modernization once again proves that infrastructure advancement plays a significant role in promoting economic development, increasing the number of jobs, and enhancing people's livelihood. China is committed to consistently support the developing countries in infrastructure development and provide full-chain assistance, including design, financing, construction, operation, etc. Currently, Chinese companies are undertaking the construction of the "North-South Highway" the Kaps reservoir, the construction of substations and photovoltaic power stations, which effectively improves the infrastructure in Armenia. In future, China stands ready to take part in more projects such as industrial park construction, road connectivity, and reservoir construction to create more benefits for the local people.

Secondly, we are committed to jointly develop New quality productive forces.

Some Armenian friends told me that Armenia is relatively short of resources. If it wants to achieve development, it must rely on its human resource advantages and technological innovation. New quality productive forces represent new technologies, create new value, adapt to new industries, and reshape new momentum. The development of New quality productive forces is of positive significance to promoting high-quality economic development and enhancing national competitiveness. The Armenian government attaches great importance to developing new energy industries and improving digital management levels. We hope that, in the future, more Chinese high-tech companies such as new energy companies, automotive technology companies, and smart agricultural companies will establish cooperation with Armenian partners, utilizing the scientific research and talent advantages of local universities to improve the industrial chain here, and bring more opportunities economic development in Armenia.

Thirdly, we should work together to promote the diversification of trade structure. In recent years, Armenian brandy, agricultural products, etc. have achieved new breakthroughs in exports to China. In November last year, Mr. Arman Khojoyan, the first deputy minister of the Ministry of Economy, led 23 Armenian enterprises to China to participate in the 6th China International Import Expo to promote high-quality Armenian products. He emphasized that the CIlE demonstrates China's high-level openness to the world, and mentioned that there is enormous potential for trade growth between China and Armenia. Hence, Armenia is welcomed to actively participate in international economic and trade exhibitions hosted by China, such as the Canton Fair, CIE, Service Trade Fair, and China International Consumer Goods Fair, which will help explore and expand more cooperation potentials and fields.

Armenia is in a difficult geopolitical situation now. At the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that China is willing to facilitate peaceful dialogues between conflicting countries worldwide. What is China's view on the current situation in the Transcaucasian region? Is the method of peaceful dialogue applicable here?

Since the ancient times the Caucasus region has been considered an important corridor to the Eurasian continent, serving as a bridge between Eastern and Western civilizations. All three Transcaucasian countries are good friends and partners of China,we never pursued any geopolitical goals or attached any political conditions in the cooperation with the three Transcaucasian countries. We genuinely hope for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region. China can only do well when the world is doing well. When China does well, the world will get even better. The same attitude also applies to this region. China calls for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and we never try to extract benefits from wars and conflicts. The security and development of the Transcaucasian region are in line with the common interests and aspirations of people around the world. China supports relevant countries in enhancing mutual trust, strengthening political dialogues and appropriately resolving disputes by peaceful means. China is ready to work with the international community to play a constructive role in promoting peace process in the region.

Previously, we inquired about the opening of direct flights between Beijing and Yerevan. How would you view the progress on this matter at present?

In January 2020, the agreement on mutual visa exemption between China and Armenia officially came into force. In 2023, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of mutual exchanges between the government delegations, academic institutions, business representatives, and students rapidly increased. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Armenia approached approximately 20,000. These are the real conditions and practical needs for the opening of direct flights between the two sides. The relations between the two countries are based on people-to-people connections. As the saying goes, the more relatives visit, the closer they become. We encourage the people of both countries to travel and interact more, and are willing to create more convenient conditions for our peoples' exchange. The Embassy of China in Armenia actively promotes further discussions between the civil aviation authorities and airlines of both countries on opening direct flights. We hope and believe that due to our common efforts, we will recieve good news in near future.