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Andrei Shorets said: “As we visit the People’s Republic of China, we feel right at home. We enable the same conditions for our friends, who come here from China. Such relations have resulted in 45 companies with Chinese capital registered in Minsk, including 11 joint ventures and 34 foreign-owned companies. As a result, the trade turnover between companies located in the city of Minsk and those in China went a bit beyond $1 billion in 2016.”

In his words, relations between Minsk and regions of China develop rather actively and dynamically. In 2016 an agreement on twinning Minsk and Beijing was signed. Apart from that, contacts have been established between districts of Minsk and districts of Chinese cities.

Andrei Shorets assured that the Belarusian capital city is ready to be a venue for negotiations as part of the One Belt, One Road project. The mayor reminded that the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone is being built not far from Minsk now. The city owns a certain stake in the project. The mayor also pointed out that virtually all the Chinese companies operating on the Belarusian market are registered in Minsk. “We are certainly interested in implementing the [One Belt, One Road] project and will always find our place in it as a negotiation venue, a place for registering a business, or a tourist attraction. We are some of the most interested and active followers of this project,” stated the Minsk city mayor.

The official remarked that Minsk is interested in exploring any avenues of cooperation with the People’s Republic of China. For instance, on 3 May representatives of Chinese mass media visited the confectionery factory Kommunarka where they were made familiar with the sweets targeting the Chinese market. Apart from that, the mayor said he believes it is necessary to put more effort into increasing tourist numbers and advancing cooperation in cultural affairs. “We are ready for it and are open to cooperation,” said Andrei Shorets.