President received the First-ranked Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Zhang Gaoli

President Serzh Sargsyan received today delegation headed by the First-ranked Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Zhang Gaoli.

The President welcomed the high-level guest and his delegation and underscored that the visit of the First-ranked Vice Premier to Armenia testifies to the high level of the Armenian Chinese bilateral cooperation and to the desire of both sides to further deepen it. Noting that China is one of Armenia’s important international partners, Serzh Sargsyan stressed that a steadfast development of the Armenian-Chinese centuries-long friendly relations is a priority of our country’s foreign policy.

The interlocutors noted with satisfaction that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Armenian-Chinese cooperation has been developing and expanding consistently, encompassing political, economic, cultural, educational and other areas. The President of Armenia and the First-ranked Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China also noted that despite the external economic shocks, the Armenian-Chinese economic cooperation in recent years has been developing actively. According to Serzh Sargsyan and Zhang Gaoli, joint programs implemented in the industrial, energy, agricultural, scientific, technical and cultural areas have become an important impetus for elevating the bilateral relations on a qualitatively new level.

The First-ranked Vice Premier stressed the importance of China’s cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union and mentioned that Armenia, as a member of the Union, can have its input to the advancement of the negotiations on that topic.

The parties concurred that high level visits, which in recent years they have acquired a systematic nature, considerably promote the development and deepening of the Armenian-Chinese relations. Serzh Sargsyan and Zhang Gaoli spoke with satisfaction about the cooperation between Armenia and China in the framework of international organizations.

The President of Armenia and the First-ranked Vice Premier of China stressed also the importance of the steps aimed at the strengthening of cultural ties and in this context highlighted the program on the establishment of the school with the enhanced studies of the Chinese language. According to the parties, the creation of the school is a promising contribution to a closer friendship between the future generations.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the President of Armenia and the First-ranked Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Zhang Gaoli attended the ceremony of the commencement of the Program on the establishment of the School with the Enhances Studies of Chinese Language in Armenia