On December 16, 2020, the RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan had a meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Armenia Fan Yong.

The meeting was attended by the RA Deputy Minister of Economy Avag Avanesyan, the Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Ministry Armen Ayvazyan, Adviser on Trade and Economic Issues at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China to Armenia Ruizuan Wang, and other employees of the RA Ministry of Economy and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China.

Ambassador Fan Yong thanked for the meeting, whereby the Ambassador and the Minister congratulated each other on assuming their positions.

Touching upon the prospects of cooperation between Armenia and China, the Chinese Ambassador noted that the trade and economic relations between the two countries are well-founded, yet there is a great potential for their development.

The parties noted with satisfaction the positive dynamics within the scope of the trade circulation between the two countries in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Minister of Economy emphasized the importance of formulating an updated agenda for mutually beneficial cooperation and the outline of the roadmap for its implementation.

Vahan Kerobyan invited Chinese companies to participate in investment programs in Armenia, particularly specifying the programs for construction of water reservoirs and roads, construction of apartment buildings, industry programs and those of an industrial city, as well as offered to establish a joint production in Armenia with the prospect of selling production in the markets of the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran.

The Minister also informed that effective January 1, 2021, the ban on importation of the Turkish origin goods in the territory of Armenia will apply. In this regard, the Chinese party will be provided with the list of the specified products, so that the Chinese companies can study and present their proposals on importing such goods to Armenia.

The parties also referred to enhancing further cooperation in the field of tourism, emphasizing the need to launch direct flights between the two countries.

At the end of the meeting, the parties offered to undertake specific steps towards implementation of the outlined programs, as well as agreed to exchange information on various issues raised during the meeting in order to organize more substantive discussions in future.