Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 20 September (BelTA) - Belarus’ participation in the China-Eurasia Expo is actually a prologue to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s state visit to China, said Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Nikolai Snopkov, BelTA learnt from the Belarusian embassy in China.

“Belarus’ participation in the China-Eurasia Expo is in fact a prologue to the Belarus President’s state visit to China. The forthcoming meeting of the two heads of state will encourage closer cooperation between businessmen and regions. Many Belarusian delegations will stay in China to prepare the documents that are to be signed during the Belarus President’s state visit to China,” said Nikolai Snopkov.

According to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to China Kirill Rudy, “China is waiting for President Alexander Lukashenko. A package of documents has been prepared to open new horizons in the political, investment and trade cooperation between the two countries.”

The Belarusian delegation is taking part in the fifth China-Eurasia Expo in Urumqi. The Belarusian delegation met with Ailigeng Yimingbahai, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the government of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the China-Eurasia investment fund of economic cooperation.

A business briefing featured representatives of more than 200 Chinese companies from 15 regions of Belarus and China. The Belarusian national stand was the biggest and most popular at the Expo. Keen interest was shown in the display of MAZ, BelAZ, Belneftekhim and Belgospishcheprom concerns, Belarusian private agricultural producers.

Belarus and China agreed to strengthen inter-parliamentary ties and organize a visit for representatives of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus to China. Ailigeng Yimingbahai, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, emphasized the need for the alignment of the development strategies of the two countries, interaction in enhancing security.

The Great Stone Industrial Park occupies an important place in the bilateral investment cooperation of Belarus and China. The meeting with China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen focused on the possibility of reducing the land rental price, improving legal and business conditions for the resident companies of the park.

Belarus’ Economy Minister Vladimir Zinovsky took note of the prospects for uniting the industrial potential of the two countries and shifting from providing loans to mutual direct investment. During the meeting with representatives of the China-Eurasia investment fund the parties agreed to consider the creation of the Belarusian-Chinese fund of direct investment with the participation of the Development Bank of Belarus.

A number of contracts were signed to export to China the products of the Belarusian companies such as Minsk Kristall, Spartak and Krinitsa, including the Belarusian confectionary products to the Heilongjiang Province. China’s biggest food corporation Cofco sent a delegation of experts from Beijing to visit the Belarusian pavilion at the China-Eurasia Expo.

An agreement was also reached to export Polotsk-Steklovolokno’s silica cloth to China.

The Belarusian Sports and Tourism Ministry and China Travel Service agreed on strategic cooperation. The Belarusian and Chinese parties also discussed the issues related to the organization of visa-free trips for tourists in cooperation with travel agencies of Beijing and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The second meeting of the working group on interregional trade and economic cooperation between Belarus’ Economy Ministry and China’s Ministry of Commerce resulted in the signing of a roadmap on the implementation of more than 30 joint investment projects. A memorandum of cooperation was also concluded between Gomel Oblast and China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The agreement was reached to organize an exhibition of goods of China’s western provinces in Belarus in November 2016.

The Belarusian delegation, led by Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Nikolai Snopkov, comprised Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to China Kirill Rudy, Belarus’ Economy Minister Vladimir Zinovsky, Information Minister Lilia Ananich, and representatives of other ministries and organizations.