Georgian Economy Minister meets Chinese companies in Beijing to foster cooperation

Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Thursday held a series of meetings with Chinese businesses in energy, innovation, technology and finance sectors during his working visit to Beijing, the Ministry of Economy said.

A meeting with leaders of China Huadian Corporation, a major state-owned electricity producer, highlighted Georgia’s interest in partnering with Chinese energy companies, particularly for utilising the country's “abundant” renewable energy resources. The parties explored potential collaboration in hydro, wind, and solar power projects, with a focus on the Corporation's involvement in these initiatives.

In a separate meeting with Huawei, a global provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices, Davitashvili highlighted the Government’s goal to foster an innovative environment in the country and build a “robust” startup ecosystem.

We are open to exploring a potential partnership with Huawei, a global leader known for leading large-scale innovative projects across different industries [...] We are keen to explore potential cooperation opportunities in developing data centres, educational programmes, and relevant infrastructure to advance the shared goals of economic growth and technological progress”, the Minister told the meeting.

Davitashvili also met with representatives of the People's Bank of China to discuss cooperation in the financial sector. The meeting emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation and experience sharing between the institution and Georgia’s central bank in areas including monetary policy implementation and “prudent supervision”, the Ministry said.

Officials also discussed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two banks to formalise their partnership and provide a comprehensive framework for future cooperation.

The parties also explored opportunities to strengthen the NBG’s cooperation with regional partners for the development of financial technologies. Additionally, they discussed alternative means of financing, such as investments in yuan-denominated securities, and access to government bonds for the Georgian financial sector and economic agents.

The Georgian Minister also said his office’s goal was to support the development of financial technology in the Middle Corridor - a logistics route connecting Central Asia and China to Europe via the South Caucasus through Georgia - by capitalising on “positive trends” of the economy.