China’s President Xi states that tariffs and trade conflicts damage the global economic system.

On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that tariff and trade conflicts erode the rightful rights and interests of every nation, damage the multilateral trade system, and affect the global economic order, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Xi shared his remarks during a gathering with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in Beijing, expressing that China is ready to collaborate with Azerbaijan to protect the international system and engage in “in-depth” law enforcement and security cooperation with the Azerbaijani side.

“China is ready to work with the Azerbaijan side to uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core…and safeguard international fairness and justice,” Xinhua said.

The two leaders announced “the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Azerbaijan”. It included the signing of 20 cooperation documents as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in areas including legal, green development, digital economy, intellectual property rights, and aerospace.

Bordering Iran, Russia, Georgia and Armenia, Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to support China’s BRI initiative. It was launched in 2013 by Xi as a way to extend China’s geopolitical and economic influence through a global infrastructure development push.