Georgia’s ruling party official: West criticised Georgia’s China deal, now seeks same partnership

Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the legislative body, on Thursday responded to criticism surrounding Georgia’s strategic partnership with China, stating that close cooperation with Beijing does not imply distancing from the West.

In a social media message, Machavariani Machavariani shared photographs of Chinese President Xi Jinping with leaders of the European Union and other Western countries, emphasising that cooperation with China has become essential for many global actors, including the EU.

“When we effectively acted ahead of everyone else and signed a strategic partnership with China, which was immediately followed by concrete steps, we were criticised by the West. It turned out that partnership and cooperation with China is vital for everyone, especially for the European Union”, the official said.

He noted that President Xi Jinping has recently met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Ministers of Canada and the United Kingdom, and that Germany’s chancellor is expected to follow, further pointing out that all of these leaders seek to deepen ties with China, viewing such cooperation as crucial to their countries’ economic interests.

“It is good that as time passes, everything is being called by its rightful name. In this case, once again, it has been proven that the steps taken by the Georgian Dream have no alternative. To those who were convinced that a close partnership with China meant distancing from the West: it is high time you started exercising some critical thinking”, he concluded.