On January 18, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani president reported that Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by China's CGTN (China Global Television Network) TV channel in Davos.

On relations with China, Aliyev started by stating, "We have very friendly relations, and China and Azerbaijan are good friends. And during my meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing during the Belt and Road Summit, he called me a big friend of China. That was a big honor for me." He added: "We look forward to seeing more Chinese companies in Azerbaijan. Quite a few of them are already very active in different areas. We fully support the initiatives of President Xi Jinping concerning the Middle Corridor. And in Azerbaijan, we've already done our homework. We established all the necessary segments of the transportation infrastructure. And we are looking forward to cooperating in energy, agriculture, and hi-tech. So many Chinese companies from the IT sector have been present in Azerbaijan for many years. So, we have a very diversified relationship."

Regarding the Belt and Road Initiative, the president emphasized, "We hope that Chinese companies will pay attention to these opportunities, and of course, being situated between East and West along the traditional Silk Route creates many opportunities for us. The Belt and Road Initiative was a timely and very wise initiative that now embraces and covers a large geography. And Azerbaijan actively joined from the very beginning, and we started to invest in the infrastructure, which was not in place. So, over the last ten years, we built one of the largest, if not the largest, trade seaports in the Caspian, with a capacity of 15 million tons, which we plan to expand to 25 million tons. We build a shipyard to manufacture vessels to transport cargo across the Caspian. We invested largely in the railroad infrastructure, not only in Azerbaijan but also in the neighborhood. And now, we have allocated additional investments to expand the capacity of this railroad from Baku to the western destination. And we did all the necessary other projects, like highways and airports. So, Azerbaijan, a country that does not have open access to the ocean, became an international logistical and transportation center. So, the Belt and Road Initiative also activated transportation through different routes, particularly north-south."

"I believe that growth in China is critical for all countries, including our own, as well as for countries like Azerbaijan. And you demonstrated consecutive growth for many years and decades. We wish you success because, as friends, we want everything you plan to come true and for you to become a member of the global community because many countries and the global economy depend on your economic performance to a very serious degree," he concluded.