Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 15 September (BelTA) – Belarus and China have established wide-ranging cooperation and strategic partnership, Vice Speaker of Belarus’ House of Representatives Boleslav Pirshtuk noted as he met with a Chinese parliamentary delegation led by Xu Anbiao, Vice Chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress, BelTA has learned.

Boleslav Pirshtuk remarked that Belarus-China relations have been rapidly developing in various fields. “Today we can say that we have established strategic relations and China is among our key partners. We have been promoting wide-ranging cooperation and ties with China; numerous projects are being financed through Chinese loans in different branches of the economy. Belarus has quite a solid record of partnership with Chinese companies,” Boleslav Pirshtuk said.

In turn, Xu Anbiao pointed out that the current visit of Chinese MPs provides both countries with an opportunity to exchange experience, in particular in legislation, ecology, and environmental protection. This is important as the environmental problem is a pressing issue for China nowadays. Xu Anbiao also stressed that top-level bilateral contacts lay the groundwork for Belarus-China friendly relations.

One of the Chinese delegation’s top priorities is to get familiarized with the Belarusian legislation in environmental protection, nuclear safety, and post-Chernobyl recovery, Tatyana Kononchuk, Chairperson of the Commission for Environment, Nature Management, and Chernobyl at the House of Representatives, told the media. “They are keen to learn how Belarus improves its environmental legislation. We will take our guests to several places so that they see how the legislation is applied in practice,” Tatyana Kononchuk added.

The Chinese delegation is in Belarus on a visit from 14 to 17 September. The guests are going to explore the operation of the Belarus-China industrial park Great Stone and visit a number of companies, the Applied Research Center for Bioresources at the National Academy of Sciences, and the International Sakharov Environmental Institute. The Chinese MPs are also expected to visit the national historical and cultural museum-reserve Nesvizh.