Belarus, Shanghai step up co-operation with focus on heavy industry, agriculture

Belarusian and Shanghai business circles met at the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Chinese side was represented by heads of seven enterprises that are interested in promoting products and services to the Belarusian market, sb.by reports

Sergei Nabeshko, the Director General of the Minsk Branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted that the BelCCI traditionally contributes to the development of co-operation between domestic companies and foreign businesses. “We have hosted a very important meeting, as we see great prospects in the development of Belarusian-Chinese co-operation. We hold about two dozen different events annually, and the recent one was special as it enabled us to establish new connections with a very powerful structure in Shanghai,” he explained.

A delegation from the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce attended the meeting. Shanghai is one of the top 5 global cities in terms of economics and finance, and it is the number one port in terms of cargo turnover. Today, more than 25 million people live in Shanghai, and the major industrial facilities are concentrated here.

“The Federation of Industry and Commerce launched a new initiative last October, and we appreciated it greatly. It proposed to unite the chambers of commerce and industry of Shanghai's twin cities (there are more than 80 of them, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Hamburg, San Francisco, and others) into a friendly network,” Mr. Nabeshko said, adding that the chambers should definitely act as a bridge that will help overcome obstacles to domestic businesses under the conditions of sanctions. “With this in view, we were very happy about that first personal meeting. We signed a memorandum of co-operation and place great hope in it. The Shanghai business was represented by several organisations engaged into the production of high-tech equipment, which has not yet been localised in Belarus and Minsk. We invited the Belarusian companies that had expressed great interest. I view our interaction with the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce as co-operation with the whole world. It is a bridge to 80 twin cities on all continents.”

In turn, the Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce, Wang Jianming, added, “Heavy industry and machine manufacturing are very strong in Belarus, so we would like to find common ground in this. We are committed to mutually beneficial co-operation in many areas. We are also interested in Belarusian agriculture. We hope to welcome your delegation in Shanghai someday.”