As Baku deepens ties with Beijing ahead of President Ilham Aliyev’s upcoming state visit to China, the Azerbaijani leader is making it clear that Azerbaijan sees China not only as a major economic partner but as a cornerstone of its alternative foreign policy strategy outside Western-dominated frameworks.

In an exclusive interview with China’s Xinhua News Agency, Aliyev hailed the July 2024 signing of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership with President Xi Jinping as a "historic event”, marking a new phase in bilateral ties built on "mutual respect, equality, trust, and non-interference”. But beneath the diplomatic language lies a broader geopolitical repositioning. As Baku faces what it describes as "unfounded pressure and boycott" from certain Western powers like the EU over its COP29 climate summit hosting role, Aliyev is leaning more visibly into China’s orbit.

Aliyev’s message is twofold. First, economic pragmatism: trade with China rose 20.7% in 2024 to $3.7bn, with Chinese imports now leading Azerbaijan’s trade flows. Azerbaijan, which once eyed Europe as its primary diversification outlet beyond Russia, is increasingly looking East. A string of trading houses and Azerbaijani wine showrooms have opened in major Chinese cities, and discussions on renewable energy and high-tech investment are underway. "There is still huge untapped potential," Aliyev said, pointing to upcoming intergovernmental commission meetings in Baku as key mechanisms.

Second, infrastructure diplomacy: Aliyev is positioning Azerbaijan as a central hub in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Citing $20bn invested in roads and rail over two decades, he called Azerbaijan "the second largest investor in BRI projects after China”. Emphasis was placed on the Middle Corridor – a trans-Caspian trade route bypassing Russia – as a reliable link between East and West. Cargo volumes from China to Azerbaijan rose 86% in 2024 to 378,000 tonnes, with 287 block trains dispatched.

Humanitarian and educational ties also featured prominently, including language exchange, university cooperation and a recently implemented unilateral visa-free regime for Chinese citizens. Aliyev confirmed a mutual visa-waiver deal is on the table and could be signed during his upcoming trip.

But more critically, Aliyev sees alignment with China as part of a broader Global South realignment. He referenced Azerbaijan’s leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement and expressed support for China’s "Community of Common Destiny" concept, a key plank of Xi Jinping’s multilateral rhetoric. "We advocate peace, equality and justice, while opposing hegemony and power politics," Aliyev stated, remarks clearly directed at the West’s perceived double standards.

The Azerbaijani leader was also bullish on China’s leadership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), where Azerbaijan currently holds dialogue partner status. While the SCO's practical impact remains limited, Baku views participation as symbolic of its multi-vector foreign policy – engagement with Russia, China, Iran and the West, while avoiding firm alignment with any.

Aliyev’s view of China is deeply pragmatic. He credits Xi with elevating China to global power status and views Beijing’s economic and political success as proof of the merits of "wise leadership”. His repeated reference to China’s development benefiting "not only the Chinese people but the entire world" signals admiration, and perhaps aspiration, for an alternative governance model.

Aliyev’s upcoming visit will aim to consolidate China as a long-term counterweight to both Western scrutiny and regional unpredictability. Whether Beijing sees Azerbaijan as more than a logistics corridor remains to be seen.