Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has commenced a diplomatic tour covering Azerbaijan and three Balkan nations: Croatia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. The primary objective of the visit is to bolster economic ties and increase Beijing’s geopolitical footprint in these strategic regions.

In Azerbaijan, Wang is scheduled to attend the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Baku. He is attending the event in his capacity as the special representative of President Xi Jinping. This summit serves as a platform for China to engage with regional partners on security and economic cooperation.

Following the summit in Baku, the diplomat will proceed to Croatia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. While the specific agendas for these individual stops have not been fully detailed, the tour is widely viewed by analysts as part of a broader effort to secure trade corridors and maintain influence in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. China has been actively seeking to deepen its engagement with these countries, many of which are participants in various regional connectivity initiatives. The visit highlights Beijing's ongoing strategy to cultivate stronger bilateral relationships outside of its immediate neighborhood, focusing on nations that occupy key geographic positions for trade and infrastructure development.