Events

Belarus, China align strategies in all-weather partnership

MINSK, 24 March (BelTA) – Cooperation between Belarus and China is successful across all fronts, Sergei Aleinik, Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs and National Security of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, said as he met with China’s Ambassador to Belarus Zhang Wenchuan on 24 March, BelTA has learned.

Sergei Aleinik noted that meetings with the Chinese ambassador to Belarus are held regularly in the Council of the Republic to address pressing issues on the bilateral agenda, with interparliamentary cooperation being a priority during such talks.

“Our meetings allow us to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation and align strategies in our all-weather and comprehensive strategic partnership,” Sergei Aleinik emphasized. “Interaction is successful in all dimensions.”

The chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs and National Security described the work of the High-Level Committee on Cooperation between the legislative bodies of Belarus and China, established in 2024, as effective. Two of its meetings have already taken place - in Minsk and Beijing. The meeting discussed the prospects for further work of this committee. “We are counting on communication between the leadership of the legislative authorities this year as well,” Sergei Aleinik said.

He emphasized the importance of the fact that detailed discussions are already underway regarding the plans for the first Belarus-China Forum of Regions in 2026. In particular, during Zhang Wenchuan’s recent trip to Grodno, these very topics were the focus of attention.

During the talks special attention was paid to interregional cooperation, Sergei Aleinik told the media following the meeting with the Chinese ambassador. “We are considering the possibility of elevating our interregional cooperation to the format of a forum of regions. Each of our regions has several partnership agreements with Chinese provinces. More than 100 agreements have been signed, aimed at deepening trade, economic, social and humanitarian ties between the regions of our countries. We examined in detail the prospects for organizing the Forum of Regions, which will take place between Grodno Oblast and the Chinese province of Gansu,” the chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs and National Security said.

According to him, other regions will also join this forum. “This is the first step toward more systematic interregional cooperation between our countries,” Sergei Aleinik said.

In his words, the meeting also highlighted the youth agenda and the signing of a corresponding agreement between the youth organizations of the two countries. This, by the way, was the subject of discussion at the previous meeting of the High-Level Committee on Cooperation between the Legislative Bodies of Belarus and China, and now the focus is on finalizing this work.

“We discussed the prospects for developing ties between the women’s organizations of the two countries, which is especially relevant in the Year of the Belarusian Woman. The contacts that were established during the visit of Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova to China in 2024 will continue this year,” Sergei Aleinik said.

He also highlighted the importance of such topics as the prospects for trade, economic, and investment cooperation between Belarus and China, which has been successfully developing in recent years, with very positive momentum in mutual trade and investment cooperation. “There was also discussion of technological and industrial cooperation, including within the framework of the Belarus-China Years of Industrial Cooperation, which are taking place in 2026–2027,” Sergei Aleinik said.

The MP also emphasized that the activities of the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone were discussed as well. “For our part, we are doing everything we can to further develop this dimension within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative,” Sergei Aleinik stressed.

During the talks, the parties reaffirmed their mutual interest in the further development of the Belarus-China all-weather and comprehensive strategic partnership in accordance with the agreements reached at the highest and high levels.

Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Belarus and the People’s Republic of China were established on 20 January 1992. In September 2022, on the sidelines of the SCO events, the heads of state of Belarus and China adopted a joint declaration establishing the highest level of relations in history: all-weather and comprehensive strategic partnership. In March 2023, during the state visit of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to China, the two heads of state adopted a joint statement on the basic principles of developing exemplary all-weather and comprehensive strategic partnership relations between Belarus and China in the new era. Developing relations with China is a strategic priority of Belarus’ foreign policy. Mechanisms for regular exchanges at the highest and high levels have been put in place between the two sides.