Transparency International has published a study on China's growing influence in Georgia, which states that Georgia's economic ties with China significantly increased during the Georgian Dream.
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Chinese citizens registered 1,893 companies in Georgia, 4 times more than it was before 2013.
In 2024, a record 291 new Chinese companies were registered.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) from China increased 5 times compared to 2003 - 2012 and amounted to $600 million. At the same time, FDI peaked in 2014 and has declined since.
Annual trade turnover with China increased 3 times since 2012 and amounted to $2 billion. In 2024, China was Georgia’s fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for 8.2% of Georgia’s overall trade.
In 2024, a bilateral visa exemption agreement was signed between the Government of Georgia and the Government of China. As a result, visits to Georgia from China rose sharply by 83% in 2024. The number of visits from China reached 88.6 thousand. There has also been a notable increase in flights from Chinese airlines to Georgia.
Many large-scale infrastructure projects in Georgia are being implemented by Chinese companies, including state-owned enterprises. In addition to the Anaklia port project, the Chinese side has expressed interest in developing a new airport in Vaziani, a site formerly used as a military base. According to the Ambassador, numerous Chinese companies have shown interest, and China will continue to monitor and support the project closely.
The report also highlights cooperation with Chinese companies that pose national security risks to the United States. Transparency International Georgia cites a state-owned China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), which was awarded the right to build the Anaklia Port by the Georgian Dream government. CCCC has faced U.S. restrictions since June 2021 and is also listed by the Department of the Treasury on the Consolidated Sanctions (Non-SDN) Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) List.
In 2020, Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated: “CCCC and its subsidiaries have engaged in corruption, predatory financing, environmental destruction, and other abuses across the world... The PRC must not be allowed to use CCCC and other state-owned enterprises as weapons to impose an expansionist agenda”.
Another company, China Railway 23rd Bureau Group is engaged in building a highway in Georgia. According to the World Bank, it is a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd. (CRCC). China Railway Construction Corporation Limited is included in the U.S. Treasury’s NS-CMIC List, subjecting it to investment prohibitions. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense listed CRCC as a Chinese military company.
The report dedicates a separate chapter to Bidzina Ivanishvili's connections with China.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the Georgian Dream, as well as his closest business associate Ivane Chkhartishvili and former Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, have had personal business ties with another problematic Chinese company CEFC China Energy.
CEFC China Energy owns 75% of the Poti Free Industrial Zone LLC. Bidzina Ivanishvili and Ivane Chkhartishvili own 50% of a company that manages the 75% share owned by CEFC China Energy.
In 2017, one of the heads of CEFC, Patrick Ho, was arrested in New York. He was charged with bribing officials in African countries to promote the interests of the Chinese company. CEFC was also accused of trading in weapons and evading sanctions imposed on Iran. At the time when CEFC was already involved in international corruption scandals, in February 2018, Georgia’s former Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili was appointed an advisor to the Supervisory Board of the company.
Ivane Chkhartishvili, the executive director of the Georgia-China Economic and Cultural Development Centre (founded in 2016), was involved in negotiations on CEFC’s entry to Georgia. The Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Georgia-China Economic and Cultural Development Centre jointly founded the Georgia-China Friendship Association, electing Jianjun Zang, the executive director of CEFC China Energy, as its honorary president on 18 October 2016.
According to the report, The majority of the top 10 Chinese companies in Georgia by turnover are engaged in infrastructure projects such as building highways, roads, and bridges across the country.
The report also focuses on Chinese surveillance cameras: “An estimated 70–80% of Georgia’s state institutions are equipped with Chinese-made surveillance cameras. The majority of these cameras, operated under state control, are produced by two Chinese companies under international sanctions: Hikvision and Dahua Technology. Notably, Tbilisi City Hall uses Chinese-developed software, HikCentral, to manage and support its Hikvision surveillance systems.
In terms of procurement, the Central Election Commission of Georgia reportedly spent the most on this surveillance equipment, with expenditures totaling $630,000.
In October 2024, the Chinese government donated X-ray inspection systems to Georgian customs free of charge. The equipment was provided by the Chinese company Nuctech. In 2020, the United States added Nuctech (Tongfang NucTech Technology Ltd.) to the Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List, citing national security concerns.”
