SHANGHAI -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday met with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in Shanghai.

Noting that the Chinese and Georgian economies are highly complementary, Li said China is willing to strengthen its alignment of development strategies with Georgia to promote the continuous improvement of bilateral cooperation.

Li called on the two countries to deepen their cooperation in areas such as trade, investment and connectivity, and to expand their cooperation on emerging industries such as the digital economy, new energy and artificial intelligence. China hopes that Georgia will continue to provide a favorable business environment for Chinese enterprises, he added.

He said that both China and Georgia are countries in the Global South, and they should strengthen multilateral communication and coordination, uphold multilateralism and free trade, and defend the global economic and trade order, as well as international fairness and justice.

Kobakhidze, who is in Shanghai to attend the eighth China International Import Expo, said that Georgia is willing to maintain close exchanges with China at all levels, leveraging the bilateral free trade agreement under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and expanding cooperation and the exchange of personnel.

Under the current international situation, China has played its role as a responsible major country in upholding world peace and defending equity and justice, and has thus injected stability into a turbulent world, Kobakhidze added.

After the meeting, Li and Kobakhidze witnessed the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation documents covering areas such as trade, artificial intelligence, agriculture, environmental protection, inspection and quarantine, culture and aviation.