Another Chinese airline will operate direct passenger flights between China and Georgia. The state company Air China is considering implementing flights between Tbilisi and Urumqi starting in September of this year, three times a week.
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In 2023, the number of visits from China to Georgia amounted to 48,304, a 554.5% increase compared to 2022. According to data from the first two quarters of 2024, 32,853 visits were made from China, marking a 159.5% increase compared to 2023.
According to the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Mariam Kvrivishvili, the Georgian government is actively negotiating the start of flights from other Chinese cities to attract more Chinese tourists to Georgia. Kvrivishvili noted that the cancellation of the visa regime between Georgia and China has provided additional incentive for bilateral negotiations.
"China is a new priority destination for the tourism sector of Georgia. Tourists from China traditionally choose long-term tours and have high spending power. The increase in the frequency of direct flights will contribute to the arrival of more visitors from China, positively impacting the development of the tourism and civil aviation sectors, and boosting bilateral trade and economic relations," said the Deputy Minister.
Air China is China's largest airline. Currently, China Southern Airlines operates regular passenger flights between Georgia and China, and according to data from the first six months of this year, it transported 19,991 passengers between the two countries. Flights on the Urumqi-Tbilisi-Urumqi route are conducted daily.
In the summer of 2023, then-Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a strategic partnership. Since then, visa-free travel between the two countries has been established. On May 29, 2024, the Minister of Economy of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili, announced that a Chinese consortium, which includes China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), will be a private investor in the Anaklia deep-water port strategic project. CCCC, which is sanctioned by the United States, will hold a 49% stake in the project. The US ambassador to Georgia, Robin Dunnigan, stated that the Chinese Communist Party owns the majority of CCCC. "The Chinese Communist Party is the number one banker and financier of the Russian army today. So one question is, why deepen economic ties with the party that finances your occupier? Because the Russian army is financed by the Chinese Communist Party," said the US ambassador. The Chinese Embassy in Georgia called this statement Preposterous.
Honorary Chairman of Georgian Dream Bidzina Ivanishvili said that deepening Georgia's cooperation with China is not an alternative to cooperation with the United States and the European Union. "On the contrary, this is a complementary factor for the common cooperation that should be deepened in the coming years," Ivanishvili said on July 16 at the opening of the party's election campaign.
