Business news

MINSK, 1 August (BelTA) – Belarus and China consider launching an investment fund worth over $0.5 billion to attract new residents to the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. The plans were discussed during the meeting between Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Xiao Yaqing, Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission at China’s State Council, in Minsk on 1 August, BelTA has learned.

The fund is designed to be as large as $585 million and can be further increased to $1 billion and more, if need be.

The meeting was attended by representatives of a number of major Chinese corporations. The participants considered the prospects for the development of the China-Belarus industrial park.

Apart from the investment fund, the plans for boosting the cooperation between Belarus and China include stepping up research to study market demand for certain products, offering professional training and advanced training of employees for the companies that are residents of the Great Stone park.

The park is expected to be included in the list of projects overseen by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission at China’s State Council. This will create additional opportunities for granting assistance with attracting investors and addressing matters of cooperation between state-owned enterprises.

The agenda of the meeting also included issues related to the development of tourism, air travel, and removal of visa barriers.

The Belarusian officials promised Chinese businessmen every support with the resolution of any arising issues and implementation of different projects.

Xiao Yaqing emphasized that the delegation accompanying him on his visit to Belarus, which includes representatives of major Chinese corporations, aims to carry out the agreements reached by the leaders of the two countries. “The companies represented in our delegation are among the world’s top 500 largest and strongest enterprises,” Xiao Yaqing stressed.

He thanked the Belarusian head of state for the all-round support provided to Chinese enterprises in Belarus, in particular, for the assistance with the implementation of the Great Stone project. For instance, Decree No.166 of 12 May 2017 created the most favorable legal conditions for commercial activity for the Great Stone park residents that are unparalleled in Belarus and other EAEU member states. “We have seen that a great deal of work has been done in many areas to develop the park and encourage companies to become its residents. This will help us make the project international, create favorable conditions and business climate,” the head of the Chinese delegation noted.

Summing up the meeting, the Belarusian leader said that the talks and substantive discussion will help make a considerable step forward in terms of cooperation. Presently, the strategy for the development of the Belarusian-Chinese relations is based on the principle of “progressing ahead of time”.