Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze lauded Georgia’s expanding economic ties with China at an October 7 government meeting, while stressing the government’s efforts to explore new markets, including through ongoing trade talks with South Korea, Serbia, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Speaking of China, Kobakhidze highlighted growing exports and investment, an expanded free trade agreement, and increased direct flights between the two countries.
“Expanding our economic relations with China is very important,” Kobakhidze said, arguing that the expanded free trade agreement was already producing “concrete, tangible results” and citing recent figures from Georgia’s foreign trade and foreign direct investments.
“In January-August, exports of Georgian products to China increased by 177%,” he said, adding “the agreements we conclude in terms of economic cooperation produce concrete results, and this figure is one of the clearest manifestations of that.”
He also said that fourteen flights are operated weekly between Georgia and China after the addition of new direct flights, calling it “of great importance” to Georgia.
According to the GD Prime Minister, Chinese investment in Georgia is also growing. “China ranked first in the first half of this year,” Kobakhidze said, adding that “in terms of foreign direct investment, investment from China amounted to USD 236 million.”
Preliminary data released by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) for the second quarter of 2026 showed China overtaking the United Kingdom as Georgia’s largest foreign investor.
Kobakhidze also said the government had been “working very actively” with Central Asian countries and had achieved “serious, tangible results,” while free trade talks are ongoing with other countries and regions, including with South Korea, Serbia, and Gulf countries.
“Negotiations on free trade agreements with the Republic of Korea, Serbia, and the Gulf Cooperation Council are also in an active phase,” he said. According to Kobakhidze, once the process is completed, Georgia will gain access to a market of 120 million people, which he described as “strategically very important” for the country.
Kobakhidze’s remarks come amid deepening ties between Tbilisi and Beijing. Georgia and China elevated their bilateral relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in June 2026, three years after establishing a strategic partnership in 2023.
In April 2026, the two countries also signed a protocol upgrading their free trade agreement, with the Chinese Embassy saying the changes were intended to further promote and facilitate direct investment between the two countries.
The agreement follows Georgia’s intensified ties with China against the backdrop of its deteriorating relations with traditional Western partners, including the U.S and the EU, and concerns over Chinese influence in Georgia. On June 8, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill requiring a report on Russian and Chinese influence and intelligence assets in Georgia, as well as a five-year strategy for U.S.-Georgia relations.
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