Georgian Dream Delegation Visits China
A Georgian Dream parliamentary delegation has visited China and met with the Chinese Communist Party and other officials, with the stated aim of “deepening cooperation” between the two countries, including on Georgia’s role in the Middle Corridor initiative, a transcontinental trade route connecting Europe and Asia.
The delegation includes GD Parliament Vice Speaker Giorgi Volski, Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Nikoloz Samkharadze, Education Committee Chair Mariam Lashkhi, Economic Policy Committee Chair Shota Berekashvili, and Agrarian Committee Chair Gela Samkharauli.
They met with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the National People’s Congress (NPC), the Education Ministry’s Language and Education Cooperation Center (CLEC), the China Chamber of Commerce (CCTIP), the municipal government of Shenzhen, and leading Chinese technology companies, Georgian Dream reported on Facebook on July 27.
“Georgia is considered a country of geostrategic importance, serving as a key network node in the transcontinental ‘Middle Corridor’ between Europe and Asia,” GD report said, adding that the importance of transit infrastructure has “significantly grown” since 2022, with a 30 percent increase in cargo turnover. It also noted that “EU officials’ positions confirm the international importance of regional cooperation.”
“For China, strengthening relations with Georgia represents a component of developing an alternative mechanism to connect with European markets,” the report said, adding that the issue is “especially relevant in the geopolitical context of limiting the function of northern transport corridors.”
“The key goals of the visit are to strengthen interparty mechanisms and the multisectoral development of the China-Georgia strategic partnership in education, agriculture, and economic cooperation that reflect the socio-economic interests of the Georgian people and the readiness of the Georgian government to play an important connecting role between East and West.”
The press release emphasizes Georgia’s importance as a transit state in what it calls the “new configuration of Eurasian trade.”
“Talks about the importance of the Middle Corridor have been ongoing for a long time, but today this topic is extremely important for everyone -both East and West – and the connection between these two markets cannot happen without the Middle Corridor,” Georgian Dream quoted the one-party parliament Vice Speaker Giorgi Volski as saying.
He added, “Georgia’s geostrategic location aligns with the necessary standards for the development of the historic Silk Road, and with Georgia, important changes will take place that will, first and foremost, positively impact the economic and social situation of the Georgian people.”
This latest visit to China by Georgia’s ruling party representatives comes amid deepening ties between the two countries, against the backdrop of GD’s increasingly anti-Western shifts. In 2023, Georgia and China established a strategic partnership.
The U.S. MEGOBARI Act, which awaits a Senate hearing after passing the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support, is officially aimed at countering the influence of China, Russia, and Iran in Georgia and envisions broader sanctions against Georgian Dream officials.
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