Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze emphasized the importance of Georgia’s strategic and economic partnership with China, calling it a relationship worth welcoming. He criticized those opposing this direction, labeling them as foreign-controlled agents working against national interests. Kaladze claimed such individuals are acting on behalf of external forces and have no place in Georgian politics.

His comments come ahead of a September 10 hearing at the U.S. Helsinki Commission, where concerns will be raised about Georgia’s political direction, ties with China, and alleged democratic backsliding under the ruling Georgian Dream party.