Issue Briefing No. 55

China–Georgia Relations:
A New Move on the Chessboard?
Anna Dolidze(Associate Professor, Rabdan Academy)
March 8, 2024

Abstract
On January 14, 2024, a high-level delegation from Georgia’s ruling party
visited China to bolster ties related to the Middle Corridor Initiative,
connecting China and Europe. Georgia support this initiative, which gainedeven bigger importance due to obstacles in the northern route via Russia.
China has been active in Georgia through investments and participation inthe Belt and Road Initiative. The visit follows a Strategic PartnershipStatement signed in 2023, marking a significant milestone. However, thespecifics of the partnership remain vague, and Georgia's foreign policy
priorities primarily focus on relations with Russia and Western allies. The
statement aims to deepen political, economic, and cultural ties, but its
practical outcomes are uncertain. Consideration of other regional players
like Russia, the United States, and Turkey is crucial, given their historicalinterests in the Caucasus region.

Georgia's pivot towards China representsa shift in its foreign policy approach, but its impact on bilateral relations
remains uncertain amidst the complex geopolitical dynamics of the Caucasus.

1China–Georgia Relations: A New Move on the Chessboard?

Issue Briefing No. 55

New Developments and their Context
On January 14, 2024, at the start of the new year, a high-level politicaldelegation from Georgia’s ruling Georgia Dream party left for an official trip
to China. According to officials, the trip is connected to implementation ofthe Middle Corridor concept, where China is the main stakeholder. Georgia
is a proponent of the Middle Corridor Initiative, a transport corridor
connecting China to Europe. The objective of the corridor is to serve as thequickest route between China and Europe, requiring only 15 days. Although
the concept has existed for a certain period of time, the idea of the Middle
Corridor gained strength as the northern route of transportation throughRussia encountered hurdles due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
The visit garnered extensive media attention and has been favorablycommented upon by Chinese officials as well. China’s activity in Georgia isnot new: Chinese investments have been active in Georgia for quite sometime. Georgia has been an active participant in the Belt and Road Initiative,
while Chinese firms have been active in Georgia. Georgia was the very firstEurasian country to sign a Free Trade Agreement with China. The
negotiations, which started in 2015, were swiftly completed and theAgreement was signed in 2017. Georgia also hosts a widely attended Tbilisi
Silk Road Forum.
Nevertheless, the high-level delegation visit is the first since Georgia
and China signed a Strategic Partnership Statement in the summer of 2023.
The visit represents a step in the direction of implementation of theStrategic Partnership Statement, and highlights a new milestone in theGeorgia–China relationship. Indeed, as noted in the Joint Statement of theleaders of both states, “The two sides decided to elevate bilateral relations
to a strategic partnership.” Nevertheless, the meaning of the strategic
partnership is vague and has yet to assume concrete configurations.

Strategic Partnership: Distinct but Just One of Strategic Hedging?
It seems that the high-level strategic partnership with China is a newdimension for Georgia’s foreign policy. The statement is distinct as it goesbeyond the established field of cooperation with China in the realm ofeconomy, and includes politics, culture, and international governance. Noneof Georgia’s foreign policy documents, including the Foreign Policy Strategy
or the National Security Strategy, mention deepening relationship with China

2China–Georgia Relations: A New Move on the Chessboard?

Issue Briefing No. 55
as a priority. For instance, the National Security Concept outlines normalizing
relations with Russia as a priority as well as deepening relations with NATO,the EU, South Caucasus countries, the United States, Ukraine, and Turkey. Itmentions relations with China only in passing, among the list of all othercountries, alongside Japan, South Korea, Israel, etc. Moreover, the languageof relations with China focuses primarily on economic relations and trade,notably, “Georgia attaches great importance to deepening political dialogue
and economic relations with China, Japan, South Korea, Israel […] in order tofoster trade and investment, and to generate international support toGeorgia.”
In fact, Georgia’s Foreign Policy document adopted by Parliamentary
Decree in 2020 reaffirms the language of the National Security Concept andnotes that Georgia aims to increase its “strategic partnership” with the US
as well as other Western European countries. Relations with China arementioned alongside other countries, such as Israel and Japan, with theobjective to “deepen trade and people’s relations.” And in fact, whenquestioned in the Parliament on whether deepening of strategic partnershipwith China impacts Georgia’s foreign policy priorities, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs noted that the priorities have not changed.
The Strategic Partnership Statement includes new issues in therelationship including the quest for Georgia to share the Chinese approach
to modernization and governance, as well as to engage in politicalconsultations. It also notes that Georgia supports China’s Global Security
Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, as well as an ambiguous phrasethat Georgia and China aim to build a “new type of international relations.”
It also points to plans in the realm of deepening cultural relations, including
language instruction, cultural, scientific, and educational exchanges, andsharing of scientific knowledge. Moreover, Prime Minister Garibashvili’s visit
to China in July 2023 was the first ever visit of the Georgian high-leveldignitary to the People’s Republic, signifying the importance of therelationship. As a gesture of the actual implementation of the strategicpartnership, Georgia abolished visas for Chinese citizens.
The policy of approximation with China seems to be part and parcel ofthe relatively recent multi-vector policy adopted by the government, thatemerged after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Pronounced in politicalspeeches, yet not in concept papers, the policy aims to downplay thesignificance of Georgia’s relations with the West, while strengthening its
outreach to other powers. This shift is noticeable, in particular, in theGeorgian government’s move in relation to economic relations and tourism.

3

China–Georgia Relations: A New Move on the Chessboard?

Issue Briefing No. 55
Therefore, the closer ties to China, that came to prominence since 2023,
seem to be part of Georgia’s exercise in strategic hedging.

Beyond the Diplomatic Partnership? China in a Regional Dynamics
However, the main question here is whether the newly establishedstrategic partnership will actually materialize in pragmatic outputs, such as
actual programs, investment and trade deals, or sector-specific treaties. Up
until recently, although China and Chinese businesses have been active inGeorgia, the curve has not been upward. Both business and academic ties
have remained at stable, yet moderate levels. China is Georgia’s third largest
trade partner, yet this is true for most Western European countries as well.
The presence of Chinese construction companies, as well as investment inGeorgia, has been stable over time. So, the question is whether the actual
relationship with China will be transformed to the same extent that it has
transformed on the diplomatic level.
One aspect to keep in mind here is certainly the role of other regional
players and their outlook on the Caucasus. Historically, during last twocenturies, Russia has considered Georgia as part of its “neighborhood” andhas expressed its keen interest in remaining the dominant power in theregion. The United States has been active in Georgia since Georgia’sindependence and has invested considerably in Georgia’s development aswell as in developing a strategic partnership. Georgia is now an EU candidate
country, with the EU signaling its geopolitical interest as well as disbursing
vast amounts of funds to support reforms in Georgia. Last but not least, thehistorical role of Turkey, a NATO member country and increasingly importantgeopolitical player, has to be considered as well, noting that Russia andTurkey were in active contestation over the Georgian territory prior toGeorgia’s annexation by the Soviet Union in 1921. Therefore, even if China
decided to further actively advance into Georgia as part of its quest for anew international role, this can only be done in light of other significant stateinterests in Georgia as well as in the Caucasus at large.

4China–Georgia Relations: A New Move on the Chessboard?

Issue Briefing No. 55

Anna Dolidze Profile
Dr Anna Dolidze was a member of the High Council of Justice in Georgia,
the government body that oversees the judiciary, where she advocated forjudiciary reform. Prior to her appointment to the Council, she was the Chief
Legal Officer for the President of Georgia. In this capacity, she presented
the record number of six Presidential vetoes to Parliament. In 2015–2016 Dr
Dolidze was a Deputy Minister of Defense, where she was responsible formilitary education and veteran rehabilitation.
Dr Dolidze was previously Assistant Professor of Law at the Universityof Western Ontario. She combines academic, professional, and NGO
experience, having worked with Save the Children, Human Rights Watch, andProject Harmony, and having served as Chairman for the Georgian Young
Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), the largest advocacy organization in Georgia.
Dolidze has been recognized as a Young European Leader by Atlantic
Brucke, Global Woman Leader by the Middle East Excellence Institute andamong twelve women globally as Women on the Barricades by the NorwegianHelsinki Committee.
Dr Dolidze lectures transnationally, including at Duke University inNorth Carolina, Helsinki España-Human Dimension in Madrid, Sorbonne
University in Paris, and Elmira Maximum Security Correctional Facility in New
York State. She is the author of three books and numerous scholarly articles
about international law and the rule of law.

5China–Georgia Relations: A New Move on the Chessboard?