MINSK, 11 July (BelTA) - Belarus and China demonstrate to the whole world a model example of cooperation, Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov said at a meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao in Beijing, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian government.
"The new status of interstate relations - all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership in a new era - is a natural development of strategic cooperation between Belarus and China," Nikolai Snopkov stressed.
In order to prepare the economic agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Belarusian-Chinese Intergovernmental Committee on Cooperation, the parties discussed the status of the key agreements reached by the leaders of the two countries during the state visit of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to China in March of this year.
The parties discussed in detail the prospects for the development of Belarusian-Chinese trade relations. The parties agreed to concentrate joint efforts on creating favorable conditions for increasing mutual trade, developing the current and new trade mechanisms, improving the efficiency of logistics routes and increasing rail transportation, introducing effective mechanisms for interaction in terms of supply of important equipment, raw materials and materials to Belarus.
In 2022, the countries reached a record high trade of $5.8 billion. In January-May of this year the trade rose 1.5 times. Belarus’ merchandise export to China is growing at a record pace: 1.8 times in 2022, 1.6 times in January-May of 2023.
As part of the preparations for the meeting of the Belarusian-Chinese Intergovernmental Committee on Cooperation Nikolai Snopkov met with Chinese Minister of Finance Liu Kun. The parties exchanged views on the current state and prospects for credit and investment partnership within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative, and agreed to strengthen financial cooperation.