China and Azerbaijan held the second round of bilateral market access negotiations on Azerbaijan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Beijing on Friday, and agreed to substantially finalize the talks, according to a release from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).
The meeting was co-chaired by Vice Minister of Commerce of China Yan Dong and Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Economy and chief negotiator for WTO accession Samad Bashirli.
The two sides reached consensus on all initial offers in the fields of trade in goods and services, agreeing to substantially finalize the bilateral market access negotiations for Azerbaijan’s WTO accession.
The substantial completion of the talks provides significant momentum for Azerbaijan’s WTO accession, demonstrating China’s firm support for Azerbaijan’s swift integration into the WTO.
Azerbaijan’s WTO accession process has spanned 28 years to date. The country is conducting bilateral market access negotiations with 19 WTO members, including China, the US, the European Union, and Russia. China is the first major developing country to complete bilateral negotiations with Azerbaijan.
