Beijing, China - April 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. National flags of China, Azerbaijan

FILE: Baku, Azerbaijan - April 10, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. National flag of Azerbaijan

FILE: Baku, Azerbaijan - Oct 1, 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
3. National flag of Azerbaijan, pedestrians

Beijing, China - April 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Interview in progress
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijani president (partially overlaid with shot 6/ending with shot 7):
"Usually, we did it [visa exemption] always on bilateral grounds, but in this case, we did it unilaterally to demonstrate our friendship and to demonstrate our openness. We also talked today with my colleagues about increasing the number of flights. Today we have, I think, six or seven flights per week. And having in mind that we almost received twice more visitors from China last year after visa regime was abolished, we hope that the number will grow. Today, I learned that 150 million Chinese people travel abroad and in one of my meetings I said if only one percent comes to Azerbaijan, that will be enough for us."
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6. Reporter
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Hainan Province, south China - April 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of travelers waiting in line at airport terminal

China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of travelers walking through jet bridge
9. Various of planes taxiing, plane taking off

Beijing, China - April 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijani president (partially overlaid with shot 11):
"Of course, we want to develop our tourism sector. We have geographical advantages - Caspian Sea, ski resorts, forests and rivers, and even semi desert area, so everyone can find a place to enjoy plus very good cuisine and hospitable people. We just need to present ourselves, to make a country presentation, and of course to eliminate visa regimes with friendly countries. And really, it's a historical day today and very good news for Azerbaijani citizens, so they can just buy tickets and come to China."
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11. Reporter
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FILE: Baku, Azerbaijan - Feb 9, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Various of city view

FILE: Baku, Azerbaijan - Oct 1, 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Various of pedestrians; street view

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has expressed the hope that the newly-signed China-Azerbaijan mutual visa waiver agreement will further enhance people-to-people connections and support the growth of the tourism sector in his country.

The agreement on mutual visa exemption for ordinary passport holders in both countries was signed Wednesday by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov during Aliyev's three-day state visit to China from Tuesday to Thursday. It will take effect after the two governments implement necessary procedures.

This marks another major move by the two countries to facilitate people-to-people exchanges following Azerbaijan's implementation of a one-year unilateral visa waiver for Chinese citizens starting from July 20, 2024, which made China the first country to enjoy Azerbaijan's unilateral visa-free policy.

In an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) on Wednesday, Aliyev said that his country has witnessed a significant growth in the number of Chinese tourists since this policy took effect. He hopes that the tourism activities will remain robust after the Chinese government's reciprocal response this time.

"Usually, we did it [visa exemption] always on bilateral grounds, but in this case, we did it unilaterally to demonstrate our friendship and to demonstrate our openness. We also talked today with my colleagues about increasing the number of flights. Today we have, I think, six or seven flights per week. And having in mind that we almost received twice more visitors from China last year after visa regime was abolished, we hope that the number will grow. Today, I learned that 150 million Chinese people travel abroad and in one of my meetings I said if only one percent comes to Azerbaijan, that will be enough for us," said the president.

Noting Azerbaijan's commitment to utilizing its rich and diverse geographical and cultural resources to vigorously develop tourism, Aliyev said the mutual visa exemption with China is a milestone in the country's promotion of visa-free entry.

"Of course, we want to develop our tourism sector. We have geographical advantages - Caspian Sea, ski resorts, forests and rivers, and even semi desert area, so everyone can find a place to enjoy plus very good cuisine and hospitable people. We just need to present ourselves, to make a country presentation, and of course to eliminate visa regimes with friendly countries. And really, it's a historical day today and very good news for Azerbaijani citizens, so they can just buy tickets and come to China," said Aliyev.