Azerbaijan Aims to Become Key Trade and Manufacturing Hub for China

Azerbaijan is laying the groundwork to boost its ambitions in the South Caucasus and is looking to China for help. In just two months, Baku's ties with Beijing have quickly moved forward as the oil-rich country has inched closer politically and economically through a series of agreements that could boost China's presence in the region and open the door to newfound Chinese investment into Azerbaijan. The series of recent moves began on July 3 when Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai…