As a session of the Belarusian-Chinese committee on trade-economy cooperation has shown, the parties managed to achieve the principal agreements on further cooperation and determine the main directions of mutual interests. China is interested in financing of a range of big investment projects in the real sector of belarusian economy. In particular, Chinese “Eksimbank” has already transferred first 12 millions US dollars tranche for Minsk TPP-2 equipment production. There are also agreements on half a million credit assignment for modernization and reconstruction of our cement productions. The State Council of Chinese was submitted a list of nearly 30 investment projects for the nearest 2–3 years with 2.7 billion US dollars total sum.
This sum is very imposing, and it exceeds the credit limits determined by the Chinese government for Belarus till 2010. Undoubtedly, these limits do not correspond to the current plans. There is one more nuance in the credit-financing cooperation of both countries. The Chinese creditors require insurance of the loan funds that will naturally increase their cost. The First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko has put forward a proposal to the partners — whether it possible to secure the credit reimbursement by the guarantees of Belarusian Government instead of insurance mechanisms. Besides, the Government of our Republic always keeps its financial promises; moreover, the state has received the forecasted “stable” country rating recently.
The representatives of Chinese corporations are worried about the question: whether it is possible to conclude contracts with Belarusian economic agents in the sphere of energetics, omitting the system of tender trade? It turned out that it is possible in principle, but in such case a proposal must be the most advantageous at the market.
Belarusian machine-building branch has big unused reserve of PRC export increase. Belarusian equipment completed with Chinese engines has already been demonstrated at the Kharbin trade-economy fair. But, as Vladimir Semashko noticed, it was only beginning. According to his opinion, agricultural equipment export supply must be already counted not for hundreds but for thousands of pieces. Our native mechanical engineers have to be more active at Chinese market. And the interest of the Far Eastern agrarians to our equipment is very big, particularly to the new models of high-energy tractors.
In principle, Belarusian mechanical engineers approach to the Chinese market and organization of assembling production will partially solve the problem of foreign trade operations negative balance. Assembling productions, placed not in Belarus, will earn such necessary in nowadays currencies. Generally speaking, the exchange of investments and technologies appeared. And such practice is considered to be one of the components of financial and economic country security.
Alexander Sokolovskiy
