BAKU - Trade between China and Azerbaijan increased by 17.6 percent in 2012 year-on-year to hit $1.2 billion, a Chinese official said here Thursday.

Zhang Wei, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), said at the Azerbaijan-China business forum that trade between the two countries has potentials to grow bigger.

The forum witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between CCPIT and the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) for cooperation in the creating of a China-Azerbaijan council of entrepreneurs.

According to Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Economic Development Niyazi Safarov, a reliable legal framework has been developed for Azerbaijan - China cooperation and more than 20 agreements have been signed between the two countries.

"Both countries have experienced a stable economic growth contributing to mutual trade relations," said Safarov.

Sixty-nine Chinese companies are now operating in Azerbaijan. The main areas of Chinese investment are trade, construction, agriculture and communications.