On December 15, Foreign Ministry of Armenia hosted a discussion on the possibilities of expanding the Armenian-Chinese trade and economic cooperation, chaired by the Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Harutyunyan. During the discussions Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Harutyunyan, Ambassador of Armenia to the People's Republic of China Sergey Manasaryan, Chairman of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia Arsen Ghazaryan, Head of International Collaboration Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Armenia Vladimir Amiryan made remarks on the specifics and opportunities of entering the Chinese market.

At the discussion, a presentation was made by Ruben Kopyan, the plenipotentiary representative of the “Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia” in the People's Republic of China, who presented in details the course of establishment in November and functions of the Armenian Cooperation Office at the Chinese Innovation Center for Belt and Road Collaboration (BRCIC), as well as the opportunities for representing and promoting Armenian products on the Chinese market.

Representatives from a number of Ministries of Armenia, branch unions, business circles and other stakeholders took part in the event.

During the meeting, the tendencies towards deepening the Armenian-Chinese trade-economic relations and the works aimed at addressing the current issues were discussed.

At the end of the discussion, the speakers answered the questions of the participants concerning the steps taken to export wine and honey from Armenia to China, to promote the tourism from the People's Republic of China, as well as the proper participation of the Armenian side in large-scale economic events to be organized in China in 2018.

Reference. “The Innovation Center for Belt and Road Collaboration"(BRCIC) was established on January 22, 2015, with the participation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Commerce and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. It is expected to serve as a think tank, focusing primarily on cooperation in the legal, political, social, cultural fields related to the economic zone of the Silk Road and innovative research.