Armenian president's China visit meaningful, fruitful: expert

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's state visit to China is meaningful and fruitful, which will create plenty of opportunities for Armenians and further strengthen bilateral ties, an expert said.

Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan, Armenian expert on regional security, told Xinhua that dozens of agreements, especially, a 12-point declaration, have been signed during Sargsyan's visit to China, which plays an important role in Armenia-China relations.

Referring to the China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiatives, Melik-Shahnazaryan said that China has kept good trade and economic relations with the whole world during the past years. And nowadays, China, as a major economic power, will consider active cooperation with countries that remained outside the shipping lanes, he added.

The Silk Road Economic Belt initiative, the expert said, is an attractive economic program that looks to the future and is aimed at closer cooperation with Europe. Thus, the South Caucasus region is of strategic importance for China's policy, Melik-Shahnazaryan said.

Sargsyan was invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit from March 24-28. He also attended the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia held in Boao, south China's Hainan province. Endi