China and Georgia have upgraded their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.

"In principle, a statement of strategic partnership between Georgia and China does not necessarily mean a greater level of great power competition in the Black Sea region between the US and China. After all, Georgia and China have had a free trade agreement since 2018, while the United States shares China’s and Georgia’s goal of expanding the Middle Corridor, especially by removing bottlenecks that currently limit its capacity. Moreover, the statement of strategic partnership between China and Georgia does not contain any controversial ideas from the US’s perspective, except perhaps one, Georgia’s support for China’s Global Security Initiative, which Washington might interpret as a shift by Tbilisi away from the global rules-based system whose development was led by the United States. And of course, whether this new arrangement causes concern in Washington will depend on how it is implemented" , former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, Matthew Bryza told the Accent.

According to him, "Russia, however, may be concerned its competition with China for influence in Central Asia may now be moving to the Black Sea as well, despite Russia’s and China’s own strategic partnership “with no limits.”

"On the other hand, perhaps the most urgent question about the joint statement is whether Beijing and Tbilisi view it as reflecting a closer alignment of Georgia with the Russia-China strategic partnership especially with regard to Ukraine. Such a partnership would likely be aimed at undermining the international rules-based order designed and sustained by the United States and its Allies. Moreover, the timing of this declaration must be viewed in Washington with great suspicion, occurring against the backdrop of the Georgian Government continuing refusal to join US and EU sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while falsely accusing the US of trying to use Georgia to "open a second front" in Russia's war on Ukraine.

On balance, therefore, the joint statement of strategic partnership between Georgia and China seems like another step by Georgia away from the Transatlantic community," he added.