On May 26, Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met with Wang Yi, the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China.

Welcoming the guest, Minister Mnatsakanyan congratulated his counterpart on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of founding of the People's Republic of China and underscored that Armenian-Chinese relations, which go back to centuries, are anchored on the deep respect and mutual trust between the two peoples.

“Armenia and China have a broad agenda in various areas and spheres related to both international and bilateral field, and I am very glad that we have another opportunity to discuss bilateral cooperation within the framework of this visit - two weeks after the visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia to China, and this is a good chance to outline further steps towards developing the dialogue. It is encouraging that we consistently maintain a high pace of political dialogue aimed at developing relations between our two countries," Mnatsakanyan stressed in his welcoming remarks.

The interlocutors exchanged views on numerous issues of bilateral agenda, highlighting the importance of boosting trade and economic relations and infrastructure investment programs, initiating and implementing projects for strengthening cooperation in the spheres of agriculture, industry, tourism, high technologies and innovation. In this context, the sides touched upon establishing and expanding the joint agenda within the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative.

According to Minister Mnatsakanyan, relations with China are one of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy by paying great attention to the further development of friendly relations between the two ancient civilizations. Zohrab Mnatsakanyan underscored that Armenia is very impressed with the dynamics of development and modernization of China.

Briefing on the latest domestic developments in Armenia, Foreign Minister noted that the Government of Armenia implements a broad agenda of reforms aimed at promoting the development and modernization of economics and institutions based on democratic principles and the rule of law.

The interlocutors touched upon a number of urgent international and regional issues.

Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Foreign Minister of Armenia presented Armenia’s approaches to and the principled position with regards to the conflict settlement.

In this context, Minister Mnatsakanyan highly appreciated China's support to the peaceful settlement of the conflict and the negotiation process. The interlocutors shared the view that the issues should have a peaceful and political settlement within the existing format of international mediation for the benefit of peoples of the region.

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan noted that Armenia has always been in line with the "One-China policy.” The importance of steps aimed at promoting regional cooperation, as well as cooperation in addressing terrorism and other international challenges has been emphasized. Both sides commended the collaboration on international fora, discussed the cooperation within regional multilateral structures, including the China-EAEU format.

The meeting was followed by the ceremony of signing the “Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the mutual visa exemption for the holders of ordinary passports", the “Treaty between the Republic of Armenia and the People’s Republic of China on Extradition" and the “Protocol between the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia and the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China for the food safety, veterinary sector and plant protection on honey to be exported from Armenia to China.”