Chinese Ambassador: China-Georgia bilateral trade surges to $2.701 billion in 2025, up 19.5% from 2024

Zhou Qian, the Chinese Ambassador to Georgia, on Saturday said that bilateral trade between China and Georgia reached $2.701 billion in 2025, marking a 19.5% increase from the previous year, reflecting growing economic cooperation, diversification of trade sectors, and the successful implementation of the China-Georgia Free Trade Agreement.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Zhou noted that China’s imports from Georgia reached $2.39 billion in 2025, a 20.7% increase year-on-year, while Georgia exported $311 million to China, marking an 11.1% rise.

The Ambassador emphasised that this growth was particularly significant in the context of today’s volatile international trade environment.

“In today’s unstable international trade environment, this achievement has not been simple and clearly demonstrates the strong resilience and broad potential of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Growth is reflected not only in the total trade volume but also in the optimisation of the structure of economic cooperation - the partnership has expanded from traditional infrastructure to areas such as new energy resources, high technology, agricultural products, and more. With the updated Free Trade Agreement, uninterrupted logistics channels, convenient settlements, and the continuous expansion of access for Georgian products in China, trade between China and Georgia is expected to reach a new level”, he said.

He noted that the cornerstone of this growth had been the China-Georgia Free Trade Agreement, which entered into force in 2018 as China’s first free trade agreement in the Eurasian region.

“Negotiations for its update were completed in 2025, and the two sides plan to sign the protocol in the first quarter of 2026. This update not only strengthens the existing achievements but also represents an important step toward higher standards, broader scale, and deeper integration. The updated agreement will further reduce non-tariff barriers, optimise inspection and quarantine procedures, strengthen intellectual property protection, and promote cooperation in e-commerce, clearly demonstrating China and Georgia’s firm commitment to facilitating trade and investment and advancing genuine multilateralism”, he noted.

Zhou further highlighted that for Georgia, the updated agreement offered expanded access to China’s 1.4 billion-strong market under zero-tariff conditions.

“For Georgia, this means that under zero-tariff conditions, more high-quality products can enter the Chinese market of 1.4 billion people more easily. Currently, Georgia is one of the main sources of imported wine in China. The protocol on the export of honey and poultry, signed by both sides in 2025, will also open new markets for Georgian products”, the Ambassador concluded.