MINSK, 30 January (BelTA) - The China-Belarus partnership is becoming a model of a new type of international relations, Xie Xiaoyong, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Belarus, said as he spoke at the first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Year of the Dragon stamp from the Oriental Calendar series at the Republican Confucius Institute of Sinology at the Belarusian State University on 30 January, BelTA has learned.
“Looking back at the Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese lunar calendar, it can be noted that under the strategic guidance and personal assistance of President Xi Jinping and President Aleksandr Lukashenko, China-Belarus relations of all-weather and all-round strategic partnership continue to achieve new breakthroughs and become a model of a new type of international relations,” the diplomat emphasized. “The political mutual trust between the two countries keeps deepening, and two successful visits of President Aleksandr Lukashenko to China over the year demonstrate the high level and special character of China-Belarus relations,” the diplomat said.
“Trade and economic cooperation is yielding fruitful results, with bilateral trade reaching $8.443 billion, up 67.3% year-on-year and once again hitting a record high,” the ambassador said. “Interregional cooperation is flourishing, with the number of twinning provinces, regions and cities between China and Belarus already exceeding 40 pairs.”
“Humanitarian exchanges and traditional friendship are expanding day by day. The successful organization of events such as Culture Days, Film Weeks, photo exhibitions and stamp dedication ceremonies have become a window and valuable opportunity for the peoples of the two countries to strengthen mutual understanding,” Xie Xiaoyong said.
The ambassador expressed confidence that “in the New Year of the Dragon, thanks to the common concern and under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, as well as the joint efforts of various departments and representatives of all circles of society of the two countries, the China-Belarus relations of all-weather and all-round strategic partnership and bilateral cooperation in various fields will undoubtedly, like a dragon, skyrocket upwards.”
The stamp dedication ceremony was attended by Belarusian Communications and Informatization Minister Konstantin Shulgan, Head of the Department of China and Asia-Pacific Cooperation of the Main Department of Asia, Africa and Latin America of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Vadim Senyuta, Rector of the Belarusian State University Andrei Korol, Director of the Republican Confucius Institute of Sinology of the Belarusian State University Anatoly Tozik, Chairperson of the Belarusian Society of Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries Nina Ivanova, representatives of the Belarus-China Friendship Society.