Design of Belarusian-Chinese Industrial Park acquires new outlines
The Head of State is confident that Belarus should enhance co-operation with its Chinese partners, noting, “We should step up our collaboration with them, as they meet us halfway, providing plenty of loans. However, we don’t always find enough suitable projects for which to use these loans.”
Mr. Kosinets informed Mr. Lukashenko about the results of his trip to the People’s Republic of China, which focused on preparations for a visit to Belarus by President Xi Jinping. The Head of the Presidential Administration reported that his visit to China saw the Belarusian delegation and Chinese colleagues discuss a wide range of political issues, as well as possibilities for international, trade-economic co-operation, and interaction in the banking sector, as well as credit and investment policy. They also discussed the construction of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park.
“The leadership of Great China trusts us, and we should appreciate this. The country is a leader in all aspects today, so we’re glad that we established co-operation with China more than 20 years ago,” emphasises Mr. Lukashenko.
Mr. Lukashenko attaches major importance to the development of interregional ties between Belarus and China, as he emphasised at a session tackling co-operative issues with the People’s Republic of China. “If we don’t attain direct interaction between our regions, we won’t achieve our collaborative goals with the People’s Republic of China,” he notes, adding that an interregional forum will take place during the visit of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, to Belarus. This will feature representatives of eight Chinese provinces, accounting for over 50 percent of China’s GDP.
“The task of the governors is to create direct contacts and sign contracts with these regions. You need to be directly involved in foreign trade activity with these regions,” underlines the President. “This year, we’ll have a real opportunity to promote our strategic partnership, with a three-day visit from the Chinese President: it’s an unprecedented visit.”
Mr. Lukashenko asserts that relations with China are a priority for Belarus’ multi-vector foreign policy, which features dynamic bilateral interaction and a comprehensive strategic partnership. “Time has shown that Belarus is the most stable, reliable and appropriate partner for China in the European region. Today, this is proven by the launch of the large-scale Economic Belt Silk Road project, initiated by Mr. Jinping. His forthcoming visit to Belarus will be a powerful impetus to further expansion of our collaboration,” believes the Head of the Belarusian state. He comments that Belarus has already accumulated rich experience of bilateral co-operation with China, in politics and international relations, as well as trade-economic and credit-investment interaction.
The President notes that he recently instructed the creation of a special group to revise areas of co-operation with China, looking at projects being implemented, and overseeing contracts worth billions of Dollars: for the construction of infrastructure, housing, power and production facilities.
A recent governmental session saw objective assessment of problematic issues which have emerged during the implementation of investment projects. “It’s vital that we learn from our mistakes, to avoid repeating them,” the President stresses.
By Vladimir Khromov
