Business news

MOGILEV, 27 September (BelTA) – Belarus’ Mogilev Oblast and China’s Jiangsu Province intend to step up economic cooperation. The relevant agreement was reached as Mogilev Oblast Governor Vladimir Domanevsky met with a delegation of Jiangsu Province led by Governor Wu Zhenglong, BelTA has learned.

Vladimir Domanevsky noted that the parties managed to establish and develop interregional relations not only at the level of regions but also at the level of cities and districts of Jiangsu Province and Mogilev Oblast: Mogilev and Nanjing, Bobruisk and Wuxi, Osipovichy and Yangzhou. In January-July 2018, the trade between Mogilev Oblast and China totaled $44 million, up by 37.9% over the same period a year before.

“Despite the fact that our export to China is not so big ($7.8 million), we expand it every year. Mogilev Oblast has increased the export to China by 2.2 times in January-July. Dairy products, flax, beef, furniture, tires and timber are our major export items,” Wu Zhenglong noted.

Vladimir Domanevsky believes that the level and scale of trade and economic cooperation has not yet matched the parties’ potential. Measures should be taken to develop bilateral cooperation. “We are interested in closer cooperation in agriculture. This is not just about importing beef or flax fiber, but also about investing in growing beef cattle, vegetables, their further freezing and transporting to China, producing bottled natural water. Mogilev Oblast has deposits of peat, sapropels and rotten stone which can be used to produce organic fertilizers and animal feed supplements,” Vladimir Domanevsky said.

According to him, exporting poultry products to China is a promising cooperation area. Some Belarusian poultry factories including Mogilev Servolux company have been certified to deliver their goods to the Chinese market. “This business area holds a large potential, but we understand well that without the help of our reliable partners from Jiangsu we will have difficulty promoting our products in the Chinese market. We thank Governor Wu Zhenglong for his decision to engage leading Chinese companies in promoting the products of Babushkina Krynka, one of the largest dairy enterprises in Mogilev Oblast.

There is a significant yet untapped potential in tourism, Vladimir Domanevsky said. “We should not delay the development of cooperation in this sector. I suggest we exchange more tourist groups this year. I am confident that by joint efforts, the number of tourists from Jiangsu Province in Belarus and Mogilev Oblast will increase significantly in the near future,” the governor said. He invited the Chinese guests to visit Belarus national expo at the China International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai on 5-10 November and learn more about the tourism opportunities of the country, including Mogilev Oblast.

For his part, Wu Zhenglong confirmed the intention of the Chinese side to intensify bilateral cooperation, particularly in economy, to switch from commerce to joint projects in manufacturing and to increase investments. “We would like to focus on mutually advantageous trade, strengthening joint projects in the manufacturing industry and agriculture and cooperation in education, science and culture,” Wu Zhenglong noted.

He urged to work together towards higher economic growth by means of improving the economic structure, assimilating innovative technologies, enhancing the effectiveness of public administration and employment. The goal is to improve the standards of living and quality of life of people in the two states. “We have a huge desire to develop bilateral cooperation in all fields and become an example of success for other regions,” Wu Zhenglong stressed.

The parties signed the documents on joint implementation of the Belt and Road initiative, the roadmap of Mogilev Oblast and Jiangsu Province, a memorandum on cooperation in trade, and also agreements on cooperation agreements between Chinese and Belarusian companies.