China's President Xi says tariffs and trade wars hurt world economic order

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that tariff and trade wars undermine the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, hurt the multilateral trading system and impact the world economic order, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Xi made the comments in Beijing during a meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, who is on a state visit to China from April 22-24.

Xi said that China is willing to work with Azerbaijan to safeguard the international system and carry out "in depth" law enforcement and security cooperation with the Azerbaijan side.

"China is ready to work with the Azerbaijan side to uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core...and safeguard international fairness and justice," Xinhua said.

The two leaders announced "the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Azerbaijan". It included the signing of 20 cooperation documents as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, in areas including legal, green development, digital economy, intellectual property rights, and aerospace.

Bordering Iran, Russia, Georgia and Armenia, Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to support China's BRI initiative. It was launched in 2013 by Xi as a way to extend China's geopolitical and economic influence through a global infrastructure development push.

China and Azerbaijan signed a mutual visa exemption for citizens holding ordinary passports and will promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields, Xinhua said.

Both countries are committed to expanding market access for green and high-quality agricultural products and in renewable energy.

China "is ready to work" with Azerbaijan and other countries along the BRI to improve customs and cargo transportation efficiency, and build a safe and stable China-Europe direct trans-Caspian Express route, the statement said.