Military cooperation with China: Azerbaijan sees great prospects

"We are starting a dialogue on cooperation in the defense industry (with China - ed.) and we think that this can be a very promising process, because, as we have already discussed, Azerbaijan continues to modernize its armed forces. Of course, we will be interested in diversifying the geography of supplies, as well as joint production."

These words of President Ilham Aliyev, spoken at the international forum held on April 9 at ADA University, sparked discussions in social networks, the media and various classrooms. They could not go unnoticed, especially by those who dislike Azerbaijan or are afraid of China. Both countries are leaders in their regions, and cooperation between them, which was upgraded to the level of strategic partnership last year, is important from the point of view of Eurasian geopolitics and geo-economics.

If we talk about military cooperation, it is still at the stage of promotion, it is only gaining momentum. The parties are eyeing each other and the partner's capabilities. China makes no secret of its interest in new markets for its military-industrial complex. Azerbaijan is interested in diversifying arms supplies and establishing joint projects in the military-industrial complex with such a global manufacturer as China.  

After the signing of the Declaration on Strategic Partnership in June last year, the agenda of bilateral relations has been significantly enriched. A week ago, a conference on "Azerbaijani-Chinese strategic Partnership: Consolidating and promoting cooperation in the Global South" was held in Baku on the initiative of the New Azerbaijan Party. In late March, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov visited China, where another round of political consultations between the two countries' foreign ministries took place. Exchanges of delegations and visits by officials to discuss military-technical issues have also become frequent and productive.

Almost immediately after the signing of the Declaration, a Chinese military delegation consisting of specialists from the Academy of Military Sciences of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China arrived in Baku. Cooperation in the field of military education was discussed. Given the presence of points in the Declaration on cooperation in the field of security, cooperation in personnel training plays a serious role.

In September 2024, the delegation of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan took part in the 11th Xiangshan Forum in Beijing. It should be noted that the Xiangshan Forum is an international platform for dialogue between military experts and representatives of defense departments. A year earlier, Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov attended the forum on behalf of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. He held important meetings in China and visited a number of companies in the Chinese defense industry. It was reported that Azerbaijan was interested in purchasing various types of military products, from video surveillance cameras to air defense systems and anti-drone technologies. And the fact that Chinese weapons are quite competitive in terms of price/quality ratio is important for Baku.

Last November, a representative delegation of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan visited the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition Airshow China. It should be noted that 260 types of combat aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, HQ-9BE anti-aircraft missile systems, YJ-12E supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, UAV counteraction systems, machinery and other equipment manufactured by Chinese defense industry corporations were presented at the exhibition.

During the visits, members of our delegation met with representatives of the Chinese military-industrial complex, the largest arms manufacturers in China. A presentation was even organized for the Azerbaijani side. The Chinese military-industrial complex is one of the largest and most prolific in the world. Chinese weapons also have a positive characteristic in terms of quality and the use of advanced technologies.

According to media reports, the Chinese side, in turn, is interested in a number of developments in the military-industrial complex of Azerbaijan, and it is expected that this interest will soon result in the preparation of joint projects.

China announced its desire to develop its arms export potential several years ago, and not only declared its intention, but showed results that attracted the attention of the world. In 2018, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) ranked China third in the world after the United States and Russia in terms of arms exports. According to this indicator, China surpassed Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The Chinese weapons expert accounted for 5 percent of the global total, but Beijing's ambitious aspirations, of course, were not satisfied with this. China has started searching for new markets, and Azerbaijan has been chosen as one of the destinations.

The "star" of the Chinese military-industrial complex at that time was the Chengdu J-10 multirole fighter, capable of resisting its Russian counterparts, as well as the American F-16 and French Mirage-2000.

Last year, it became known that Azerbaijan had purchased Pakistani-Chinese-made fighter jets. The deal was officially announced after the JF-17C (Block-III) multirole fighter was presented to President Ilham Aliyev at Baku International Airport on September 25. It is reported that these modern, lightweight, all-weather fighters have already been included in the arsenal of the Azerbaijani Air Force.

The JF-17C fighters are a joint project of the Pakistani Aviation Complex and the Chinese Chengdu Aviation Corporation.

Minister of Defense Industry Vugar Mustafayev met with Chen Defang, President of the Chinese corporation Norinco, as part of the IDEX-2025 International Defense Exhibition held in Abu Dhabi (UAE) in February.

The state corporation China North Industries Corporation - Norinco (China North Industrial Corporation) produces, among other products, and military. These are explosives, uniforms, optical electronics. sophisticated military equipment, including multiple launch rocket systems, amphibious vehicles, anti-missile systems, air defense systems, night vision equipment, information systems, high-performance suppression systems, aerial bombs, weapons for anti-terrorist operations, small arms and sports weapons.

Earlier, within the framework of the 5th anniversary Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition ADEX, Zakir Hasanov met with the senior staff of the China National Corporation for the Import and Export of Precision Machinery (CPMIEC). The company specializes in the supply and maintenance of air defense systems, radars, satellites, optical instruments, military tractors and other military equipment.

According to experts, Azerbaijan's military-technical cooperation with China is likely to consist not only in the purchase of weapons. We can talk about improving certain control systems and military equipment using Chinese technology. That is, about the modernization of the equipment that is in service with the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. In this regard, China is very promising, experts say.

I must say that China takes military cooperation and violations in this area very seriously. It should be recalled that in May 1999, it became known about the supply of 8 Typhoon missile systems to Armenia by a private Chinese company. The Azerbaijani side reacted sharply to this step, pointing out the tension that such a step by China would inevitably entail. Beijing immediately began investigating the issue. It turned out that the missile systems were sold to the Armenians not by state-owned companies, but by a private company, which appeared in China at that time as a result of the denationalization of part of the country's military industry.

The incident received a wide response in China itself. Hu Jintao, then Deputy Chairman of the People's Republic of China and a member of the Central Military Council, organized a broad discussion of this issue in the People's Republic of China, and as a result, it was decided not only to stop selling Typhoon installations, but also to ban the further supply of relevant missiles to Armenia. And two violating companies were heavily fined for violations of arms export control rules.

In short, the Azerbaijani-Chinese arms cooperation has good prospects.