China lies in Asia and it has an area of 9,598,094 km², making it the second largest Asian country and the fourth largest country in the world.

The capital of China is Beijing and its largest city is Shanghai. The official language is Mandarin.

Since 1949, China has had a communist system of government, run by the Communist Party of China.

China is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

OVERVIEW

Diplomatic relations between Albania and China were established on November 23, 1949. In May 1954, the respective diplomatic missions were opened in Tirana and Beijing. Immediately after Albania’s accession to the United Nations Organisation in 1955, the Albanian government took a stand against the “two China” theory at the UN. In 1963, Albania proposed and diplomatically supported China’s readmission to this organization. On October 25, 1971, at the 26th session of the General Assembly, the People’s Republic of China was admitted as a member to the UN.

BILATERAL RELATIONS

The two countries enjoy friendly and traditional relations. Albania recognizes the One China policy and respects its territorial integrity. Both countries cooperate in the governmental, parliamentary, academic and cultural levels, as well as in the framework of multilateral fora on issues where they share common attitudes and interests.

Economic cooperation between the two countries has increased, particularly in recent years. However, it is still not at a satisfactory level compared to the potential that exists. China is one of the main trading partners for Albania. The legal framework includes over 50 economic agreements between the two countries. Albania is part of China-Central and Eastern European Initiative.

The last high-level visit to Tirana was that of the State Counselor and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, on October 28, 2021, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of China’s return to the UN.