Belarusian People’s Congress

Opinion: Belarus has built strong, open relations with China

MINSK, 12 February (BelTA) - Belarus has built strong and open relations with China, head of the administration of the Chinese-Belarusian industrial park Great Stone Aleksandr Yaroshenko said at the 6th Belarusian People's Congress on 12 February, BelTA has learned.

“In his report the head of state emphasized the special role of relations with the People's Republic of China, which is steadily approaching the status of the world's first economy. The middle class in the country exceeds the entire population of the United States and is close to the total number of residents of the European Union. This makes it the most dynamic, solvent and attractive market in the world. Most importantly, China has made a breakthrough in the development of future technology: 5G, artificial intelligence, online commerce, solar energy. Back in the 1990s, Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized the depth and significance of China's historical prospects. Our country has built strong and open relations with China. Only four countries in the world have such a high level of relations with China: Russia, Pakistan, the UK and Belarus,” Aleksandr Yaroshenko said.

According to Aleksandr Yaroshenko, China is Belarus' second foreign trade partner after Russia with an annual turnover of $5 billion. “The export structure is improving with a focus on final, marginal products. About 500 Belarusian exporters have already established themselves in this competitive market. More than 100 agricultural enterprises have been accredited. 24 projects worth nearly $4.5 billion have already been implemented in Belarus using Chinese resources. Work on other major projects is underway. Among the most important ones are the Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation, the BelGee plant, and electric power facilities,” the head of the industrial park said.

Project cooperation with China has secured Belarus’ GDP growth by a quarter over the past six years. “It is important that we have systematically implemented the transition from loans to direct investment, Chinese direct investment has almost doubled against 2015,” he said.

Technical and economic assistance occupies a special place in the relationship between the two countries. “In fact, it is a gift from the Chinese people to the Belarusians. Over the past 15 years, the volume of technical and economic assistance has exceeded $0.5 billion as part of 17 projects, including the construction of social rental housing, a student dormitory, a hospital and other facilities. Within the next three years we will build two sport facilities - the National Football Stadium and an international level swimming pool,” the head of the administration of the Great Stone Park added.

“Given the speed of the development and constant changes, I make a proposal for a comprehensive revision of President’s Directive No.5 on the development of relations with China. In fact, it is a roadmap for our cooperation. We need to accelerate the conclusion of an agreement of bilateral cooperation on trade in services and investment. Its implementation will help us deepen cooperation in these areas. Logistics, especially railroad transportation, education and tourism, medical services, banks and finances will be the main growth drivers for the two countries,” Aleksandr Yaroshenko said.

print version

make home page

add to bookmarks