December 1991, China officially recognized Armenia as an independent state. On April 6, 1992, many Central Asian countries established diplomatic relations with China. In July 1992, China established an embassy in the Armenian Capital of Yerevan. In 1996, Armenia established their embassy in Beijing. Trade and economic relations Trade turnover (mln. US dollars) The data in the chart above shows that the trade volume between Armenia and China, although still relatively small, has grown significantly over the last decade and exceeded US$400 million by 2008. There was a significant slump in trade volume in 2009, probably due to the financial crisis of 2007-08. Trade volume increased, exceeding US$400 million for two consecutive years in 2010 and 2011. Armenia's main export is ore, while the products imported from China to Armenia are diverse and include clothes, shoes, machinery, chemicals, equipment, construction materials, furniture, food etc. Industry In May 2010, Shanna (Shanxi-Nairit) Synthetic Rubber Co., jointly funded by Shanxi Synthetic Rubber Group and Armenia's Nairit LLC, was established and started production. Armenia's president attended the inauguration of the Shanxi-Nairit joint venture, marking the commencement of the company's chloroprene rubber production in Datong. Shanxi-Nairit joint venture was created based on an agreement signed in 2003 by the Shanxi Synthetic Rubber Company (China) and Nairit LLC (RA). Nairit LLC holds 40 percent of Shanxi-Nairit's shares. China and Armenia have signed some bilateral cooperation agreements related to agriculture and scientific research, including the "Xinjiang-Armenia Top-quality Fruit Tree Planting Technical Cooperation", the "Central Asian Sci-Tech Exchange and Cooperation on Grapes", and the "Study on Vinyl Acetate and Its Byproducts". Education and Culture The Chinese and Armenian governments have agreed to send 15 exchange students to study in each other's country each year. However, the two countries have not yet signed an agreement ensuring that the exchange students can receive credit for their work complete abroad. At present, there are no direct flights between Armenia and China.[11]. Every year, China celebrates Armenian Cultural Day and Armenia celebrates Chinese Cultural Day. Armenians are very interested in Chinese culture and enjoy a variety of Chinese theatrical performances. Confucius Institute opened at Yerevan State Linguistic University in 2008. Another Confucius Institute opened elsewhere in Armenia. Additionally, in 2018, the Chinese-Armenian Friendship School opened in Yerevan. Military In recent years, the military relations between China and Armenia have steadily become stronger. According to Chang Wanquan, Minister of the PRC's Ministry of