During his recent visit to China, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili gave an exclusive interview to China Central Television (CCTV). He spoke about Georgia-China relations and the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries. Moreover, among other issues, he discussed Georgia's regional policy, why Georgia is attractive to Chinese companies, Georgia's role in the "Belt and Road Initiative," and its position as a vital link in the expanding Middle Corridor project.

Speaking about the trip, Prime Minister Garibashvili called the visit "historic" and thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for the invitation. Garibashvili praised President Xi Jinping for promoting relations between China and Georgia to a strategic partnership: “Both countries will benefit from this historic decision. I am going back home with some concrete, tangible results". "Without exaggeration, President Xi is truly an exemplary leader, a visionary, a wise man, who did great things for this great nation, and who's doing very ambitious projects and reforms for "I am very interested in strengthening our bilateral ties, relationship, and friendship and trust with the Chinese government and President Xi" – argued Garibashvili.

The PM once again reiterated Georgia’s support for China’s global initiatives: "I have to tell you honestly that we fully support President Xi's initiatives, and I will tell you why: all his initiatives are pro-peace, pro-progress, modernization, prosperity, pro-development and I think this is great. This is what the world needs today; the world today needs peace, stability, and prosperity. [...] President Xi's initiatives are outstanding, and I think they will inspire many nations, many countries..." “All [of President Xi's] initiatives are pro-peace, pro-progress, modernization, prosperity, pro-development, and I think this is great. This is what the world needs today.”

Garibashvili also said that Georgia was one of the first countries to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2015, noting that Georgia used to be part of the Silk Road. He also emphasized that the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum was founded on his initiative in 2015 to show Georgia’s support for the BRI.

When asked how he sees future cooperation in the BRI format, Garibashvili emphasized Georgia's special geographic position, which makes it especially important in the modern world: “Georgia has a unique geostrategic location, which is the shortest road to the West. It takes roughly 15 days to transport goods from China to Europe.” 

He emphasized the great potential for the so-called Middle Corridor with Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. He noted that Georgia signed the "clear roadmap with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan." He said: “We have a full understanding of how to increase the capacity of this corridor, of railroads, ports, and other infrastructure.”

The Georgian PM also touched upon the issue of ongoing infrastructure building across Georgia: “In Georgia, we are doing lots of big infrastructure projects: east-west highway, we are now going to start a new project – deep sea Anaklia port, the capacity of this port after implementation of all nine phases will be about 100 million tons.” 

He likewise emphasized the existing plans to modernize the east-west highway and railways system in Georgia, which are carried out by the Chinese companies. He noted that the Georgian side is “quite satisfied with the work they do in Georgia.”

He emphasized that Georgia has a natural ability to position itself as a transportation, logistics, and energy hub and that Georgia wants to start building a new international airport, which would be part of the BRI. The PM also noted the importance of the expanding Middle Corridor and its capacity to become a viable alternative on the global level.

Garibashvili also spoke about the free trade agreement with China, saying that Georgia had the privilege to sign this agreement and emphasized that the negotiations started during his first term as Prime Minister. According to him, the results are visible because, in recent years, the trade turnover between the two countries has increased by 400%, and China has become the 3rd trade partner of Georgia.