I. Brief introduction of China-Arab relations

　　(1) Brief introduction of Azerbaijan

　　The Republic of Azerbaijan, the capital of Baku (population 2.54 million), is located in the southeast of Transcaucasia, bordering Russia in the north, Armenia and Georgia in the west and northwest, Iran in the south and the Caspian Sea in the east. Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic is an enclave of Albania, surrounded by Armenia, Iran and Turkey. It covers an area of 86,600 square kilometers and has a population of 9.48 million. The ethnic groups are mainly Azerbaijanis (90.6%), Russians, Armenians, etc., and they mainly believe in Islam. The official language is Azerbaijani, and most residents are familiar with Russian.

　　The political situation in Afghanistan is generally stable. At the beginning of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Afghanistan formulated the development strategy of "rejuvenating the country through oil". At present, the annual output of oil is about 50 million tons, and the annual output of natural gas is about 30 billion cubic meters. The economy has maintained rapid development with the help of petrodollars. In 2015, the GDP reached 54.35 billion manat, up by 1.1% year-on-year, the foreign trade volume was 20.65 billion US dollars, down by 33.4% year-on-year, the per capita GDP was 5,600 US dollars, and the per capita monthly salary was 322 US dollars. Affected by the long-term low international oil price and other factors, in February and December of 2015, the local currency Manat depreciated sharply twice, reaching 33.5% and 47.6% respectively, with a cumulative depreciation of 97% for the whole year. In order to cope with the adverse effects caused by the drop in international oil prices, the Afghan government has actively deepened economic reforms, ensured the stability of the national financial system, further promoted the strategy of economic diversification, vigorously developed non-oil economies such as agriculture and tourism, and strived to change the economic structure that relies too much on energy exports and promote balanced development in all areas of the economy.

　　阿坚持独立自主、多元平衡的外交基本原则。注重发展同俄罗斯的战略合作伙伴关系，积极发展同美国和欧盟合作，将融入欧洲作为对外战略目标。努力发展与土耳其、伊朗、格鲁吉亚等周边邻国的双边关系。积极参与独联体事务。因“纳卡”领土争端与邻国亚美尼亚长期敌对。2016年4月，阿、亚两国在“纳卡”地区爆发大规模武装冲突，造成大量人员伤亡。

　　（二）双边关系简况

　　1992年4月2日建交。两国关系发展顺利，高层交往密切。2014年5月，阿总统阿利耶夫来华出席亚信上海峰会，习近平主席与其举行会见。两国各领域友好合作发展迅速，两国人民传统友谊不断加深。阿重视对华关系，支持中国在台湾、涉藏、涉疆、“法轮功”等问题上的原则立场，各派政治力量均积极主张加强同中国的友好合作。中国是最早承认阿独立的国家之一。2015年12月，阿总统阿利耶夫对华进行国事访问，2016年5月，习近平主席特使、中共中央政治局委员、中央政法委书记孟建柱访阿。6月，中共中央政治局常委、国务院副总理张高丽访阿。

　　中阿经贸关系发展顺利。2015年，中阿贸易额6.62亿美元，下降29.7%。其中，中方出口4.39亿美元，下降31.9%，中方进口2.23亿美元，同比增长25%。双方在科技、教育、文化等领域合作顺利，成果丰硕。

　　1999年，双方举行中阿经贸合作委员会第一次会议，2015年11月举行第5次会议。

　　二、中阿民航关系简况

　　中阿两国政府于1994年3月7日签订了关于建立航空运输的纪要，并于1999年、2006年、2010年、2013年、2015年举行会谈，扩大了航权安排。

　　2015年12月10日，在国家主席习近平和阿塞拜疆总统阿利耶夫的共同见证下，时任中国民用航空局局长李家祥与阿塞拜疆航空公司总裁阿斯克罗夫阿塞拜疆政府代表共同签署了《中华人民共和国政府和阿塞拜疆共和国政府民用航空运输协定》。

　　三、阿塞拜疆主要机场和空运企业

　　（一）主要机场

　　1、巴库盖达尔·阿利耶夫国际机场（Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport）

　　IATA code: BAK, ICAO code: UBBB.

　　http://www.airportbaku.com/

　　Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport is the hub base of Azerbaijan Airlines, the national airline of Azerbaijan, and the busiest airport in Azerbaijan and the Caucasus. The airport, formerly known as Bina International Airport, is owned and operated by the Azerbaijani government. On March 10th, 2004, the airport was renamed geidar aliyev Airport, named after former Azerbaijani President geidar aliyev.

　　2. Lankaran International Airport.

　　IATA code: LLK, ICAO code: UBBL.

　　Located in Liankelan, a city in the southeast of Azerbaijan, its main routes are the international routes between the local and CIS member countries and the domestic routes of the country. The airport is mainly engaged in regular passenger and cargo routes at home and abroad. The air transport companies it serves include Azerbaijan Airlines and UTair, and it is open to Baku, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Surgut, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and other places.

　　3. Ganja International Airport

　　IATA code: KVD, ICAO code: UBBG.

　　Zhanjia International Airport is located 5 kilometers northwest of Zhanjia City. It is mainly operated by airlines such as Azerbaijan Airlines and Turkish Airlines, and travels between Zhanjia and Baku, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Istanbul.

　　4. Gabala International Airport.

　　Gabarra International Airport, located in Gabarra Town, northwest Azerbaijan, was founded in January 2011. On November 17th, 2011, President Aliyev attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the airport. In the same year, Gabarra Airport became an international airport.

　　5. Nakhichevan Airport

　　IATA code: NAJ, ICAO code: UBBN.

　　Nakhichevan Airport is located in Nakhichevan, the capital of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, 4 kilometers away from the city center, and is the only airport in this closed area.

　　6. Zaqatala International Airport

　　IATA code: ZTU, ICAO code: UBBY.

　　Za Catarre Airport is located at the foot of Nanshan Mountain in Caucasus. The airport terminal and runway were rebuilt in 2008, and then it became an international airport.

　　(2) Major air transport enterprises

　　1. Azerbaijan Airlines.

　　IATA code: J2, ICAO code: AHY

　　https://www.azal.az/

　　Azerbaijan Airlines, the flag carrier of Azerbaijan, was established on April 7, 1992 and headquartered in Baku. It mainly operates scheduled passenger and cargo flights from Baku to CIS countries, Europe, China and the Middle East, as well as domestic flights, with about 33 navigation cities.

　　Address of Azerbaijan Airlines Beijing Representative Office: Room 4-05026, No.6 Chaowai Street B, Chaoyang District, Beijing, with ASADOV ILHAM as the chief representative, and the resident period is April 30, 2016.

　　2. Silk Road Airlines of Azerbaijan.

　　IATA code: ZP, ICAO code: AZQ.

　　http://www.silkwayairlines.com/

　　Azerbaijan Silk Road Airlines, established in 2001, is a cargo airline headquartered in Baku, Azerbaijan, based at Aliyev International Airport, operating routes covering 50 destinations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

　　The address of the representative office of Azerbaijan Silk Road Airlines in Urumqi is Room 522, Xiyu International Hotel, Building 2, No.876 Dawan North Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi. The chief representative is SAFAROV ISMAYIL, and the residence period is until December 31, 2018.

　　On September 11th, 2015, Zhao Jiancai, Vice Governor of Henan Province, met with Akhundov Zaur, Chairman of Azerbaijan Silk Road Airlines, and his party in Zhengzhou. The two sides had a talk on strengthening air navigation. On the same day, Henan Airport Group signed a cooperation agreement with Azerbaijan Silk Road Airlines, and the Zhengzhou-Baku-Hahn international freight route opened by Silk Road Airlines in Zhengzhou in 2013 will be increased from the current weekly flight to more than 6 flights per week.

　　3. Silk Road West Airlines of Azerbaijan.

　　IATA code: 7L, ICAO code: AZG.

　　http://www.silkwaywest.com/

　　Based at Aliyev International Airport, Azerbaijan Silk Road Western Airlines cooperates closely with Azerbaijan Silk Road Airlines and Azerbaijan Airlines, using Silk Road to fly cargo holds of Il -76 and An -12 models and belly cabins of Azerbaijan.

　　The address of Azerbaijan Silk Road West Airlines Shanghai Representative Office is Room 905, Building A, No.18 Taolin Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai. The chief representative is BAKHTIYAROV ZAUR FAXRADDIN, and the residency period is until July 31, 2018.