Azerbaijan actively collaborating with Chinese companies, says president

BAKU, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Establishing a strategic partnership with China is "a very important milestone" for Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani side is actively collaborating with Chinese companies, President Ilham Aliyev said Thursday.

Speaking at the international forum in Baku on the theme "Facing the New World Order," Aliyev said Chinese companies have been selected as partners for the Central Asian country to produce environmentally friendly public transportation vehicles. According to a report by AZERTAC news agency, the first batch of vehicles will be put into production this year.

The president said Chinese enterprises have also been chosen to supply solar panels for Azerbaijan and that discussions about direct Chinese investments in Azerbaijan's green energy sector are ongoing.

The president said his country has supported the Belt and Road Initiative from the beginning and "not only publicly supported but also invested in it."