CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VIII (1) ContemporaryEurasia81 | Page 70

IMPERATIVES OF GEORGIAN DIPLOMACY AND COOPERATION OF TBILISI AND…
its geographic location, which makes the country a central link in transport
communications. In May 2015, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili reiterated
that China and Georgia begin a completely new stage of relations, which,
according to the prime minister, will restore Georgia’s historical function as
a link between Europe and Asia to his country. “The strategic location,
existing in Georgia will receive even more applications, that is why we also
intend to develop a new Silk Road. The implementation of this project was
of interest for China. <...> We are beginning the construction of a deepwater
port in Anaklia, which will enable us to take larger vessels, using the
existing potential more widely, which certainly has our country» 19 , – said the
Prime Minister.
It seems that Georgian officials have expended a lot of effort to
convince the Chinese side of the seriousness of their intentions. This is
evidenced by the recent statement of the Ambassador of China in Tbilisi,
Yue Bin, who noted that the Caucasian country has obvious geographical
advantages. “I'm not just talking about the concept of ‘economic belt of the
Silk Road’ with the Georgian politicians and their attitude was always
positive” 20 , said the Chinese diplomat. However, the contours of the pool of
those countries that have agreed to join the Chinese initiative are still very
amorphous and conceptually are not marked. We can only make assumptions
on them based on official visits, as well as already signed trade and
economic agreements and joint declarations.
Against the backdrop of excellent Georgian-Chinese political
relations, the Sino-Georgian trade and economic commission was
established in Tbilisi in 1999. In 2005, the parties have already recorded a
fairly high level of mutual contacts, which resulted in the signing of
agreements on the avoidance of double taxation. Slowly but surely, bilateral
trade began to increase. In 2010, the two sides signed an intergovernmental
agreement on economic and technological cooperation.
The volume of direct Chinese investments in Georgia is still relatively
small, but has a constant and stable tendency to increase. The most important
aspect that radically distinguishes assistance provided by China is that the
recipient countries are considered equal partners. However, it never
interferes in the internal affairs of the recipient of its assistance and respects
the chosen path of their development. 21 Of course, this makes Beijing in all
19
“Šjelkovyj put’ Gruzii”, (in Russian), [“Georgia's Silk Road”], New Caucasus, May 29,
2015, http://newcaucasus.com/?newsid=7267(accessed April 3, 2019).
20
“Jué Bin: Koncepcija ékonomičeskogo pojasa Šjelkovogo puti Kitaja sovpadaet s
nacional’noj strategiej razvitija Gruzii”, (in Russian), [“Yue Bin: The concept of “Silk Road
Economic Belt” coincides with Georgia's national strategy”], New Caucasus, March 5, 2014,
http://newcaucasus.com/index.php?newsid =6895(accessed April 3, 2019).
21
Мarija Potapenko, KNR kak noviy meshdunarodniy donor: osobennosti politiki
sodeystviya meshdunarodnomu razvitiyu, Vestnik RUDN. Seriya Meshdunarodnie
otnosheniya, [“China as a new international donor: features of the policy of international
development assistance”], no. 1, (2014): 23.
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