China and Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to boost the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

The signing of the document was witnessed by President Xi Jinping and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev after their talks in Beijing. A senior Chinese diplomat said the two countries are planning a cargo rail route to boost links between China and Europe.

Nine cooperation documents were also signed covering areas including trade, justice, civil aviation, education, transportation and energy.