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Belarus, China set up platform to work on access to Chinese market
MINSK, 16 December (BelTA) – Belarus and the People’s Republic of China have set up a platform for the sake of taking a closer look at matters of access to the Chinese market. First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Nikolai Snopkov made the statement to comment on results of the latest session of the Belarus-China intergovernmental committee on cooperation. The session took place on 14 December, the press service of the Belarusian government told BelTA.
According to Nikolai Snopkov, profound strategic decisions were made during the session. The decisions will reveal the potential of bilateral cooperation.
The official said: “First of all, as an exclusive option a commission on customs and quarantine cooperation will be set up within the framework of the intergovernmental committee. It is a practical platform for working on all the matters associated with access to Chinese markets, matters concerning veterinary oversight, quarantines, and logistic chains. Second, the establishment of a working group to simplify trade procedures between the Chinese Commerce Ministry and the Belarusian Economy Ministry is self-explanatory. This platform is designed to simplify trade procedures and create the foundation for vigorous trade in line with the agreement Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko and China President Xi Jinping have reached.”
Third, during the session of the Belarus-China intergovernmental committee on cooperation a joint statement of the Belarusian Economy Ministry and the Chinese Commerce Ministry was signed on the launch of negotiations on the agreement on trade in services and on investments between the two countries. “The realization of this agreement will change the essence and the depth of joint development. It will simplify the provision of mutual investments without restrictions and prohibition lists. Facilitation of the trade in services right now represents the foundation of active trade because services account for 80% of the value of a modern product,” Nikolai Snopkov stressed.
Participants of the session of the Belarus-China intergovernmental committee on cooperation also pointed out the systemic nature and the large scale of the gratuitous technical aid China provides for the sake of the most important social projects and the development of infrastructure of the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone.
At present the technical aid portfolio is close to $253 million. Belarus received a total of $492 million in 2015-2019 via international technical aid projects. Chinese aid accounts for nearly 50% of the total gratuitous technical aid Belarus gets.
Chairman of the Chinese part of the Belarus-China intergovernmental committee on cooperation Guo Shengkun reaffirmed the high priority and indisputable quality of implementation of two sport facilities in Belarus thanks to Chinese technical and economic aid – the national football stadium and a world-class swimming pool.
The sides also discussed the need for Belarus to promptly use up the rest of the money available via Chinese credit lines to the tune of about $4 billion for the sake of specific projects designed to develop the social and transport infrastructure in order to steadily improve living standards of the Belarusian population.
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