Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met with the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province.

In his remark, the PM deemed the visit a “historic visit for me,” adding “Georgia considerably values friendship and partnership with China.”

“It is an extreme pleasure and privilege to meet with You today. This is a historic visit for me. I am extremely grateful to You, personally. I was honored and very thankful to receive Your kind invitation to visit China.

I am also delighted to attend the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 Summer World University Games here in Chengdu, China. So, thank You again. I really appreciate this invitation.

I am also very grateful to You, Mr. President, and to Your Government for Your support to my country. China was among the first countries to recognize Georgia’s independence in 1992, when we regained our independence. And then we established diplomatic relations between the two of us.

I want to highlight that Georgia also firmly supports the One China Principle. We have repeatedly underlined this position on many occasions and will do so in future.

Georgia considerably values the friendship and partnership with China and I am grateful for Your decision to elevate our relationship to strategic partnership, which I believe will bring concrete results and be beneficial for both of us.

Let me state again that Georgia is committed to deepening trade and economic relations with China in various fields and we are excited that a series of significant documents will be signed during this visit,” the PM stated.