Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 13 September (BelTA) – Belarus is ready to supply China’s Shandong Province with a wide range of food products, Belarus’ Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said as he met with Shandong Province Governor Gong Zheng on 13 September, BelTA has learned.

“We can see a growing demand for high-quality food products in China. The same is true about Shandong Province. Belarus is known for its natural and eco-friendly products. We are ready to launch supplies of a wide range of food products, including milk, baby food, beef, poultry, beverages and confectionary products. We suggest using the railway on the Silk Road route going from the European Union to China,” Andrei Kobyakov said.

On the whole, Belarus is interested in expanding cooperation with Shandong Province on a wide range of issues, including the transit on the Belt and Road route, cooperation in tourism and education, setting up joint high-tech enterprises in the Great Stone Industrial Park. The PM welcomed the decision of China’s Weichai to become a resident of the Great Stone park. Weichai will team up with Belarus’ MAZ to build an engine plant in the park. “The company’s project is high-tech and meets the profile of the industrial park. The project envisages new production and innovations, not simply trading relations,” Andrei Kobyakov stressed. Since the Shandong Province governor is working on attracting world leaders in IT and robotics technology to the province, Belarus would be grateful for involving such companies in the projects to be implemented in the Great Stone.

A joint activity agreement between MAZ and Weichai was signed at the end of the talks.

Shandong is one of China’s most economically developed provinces, the country’s industrial hub. This coastal province boasts the best transport network in China. The province has a well-developed mining industry, produces coal and oil, iron ore, mineral bauxite, graphite and salt. The province also develops its oil refining industry. Shandong Province cultivates wheat, soya beans, millet, rice, cotton, peanut and tobacco. The Chinese province is well-known for its fishing industry.