Opinions & Interviews

The most important factor, according to the Belarusian leader, is China’s head of state, Xi Jinping, with whom Belarus established the current high level of relations over a relatively short period of time.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that he first met with Xi Jinping when the then Vice President of China was on a visit to Belarus. “We spent five hours discussing various issues. The talks were absolutely frank. Chinese people are reserved. They can take long to decide, but once they decide they do it. The same is true about Xi Jinping. I see that after taking the post of the President he still remembers that conversation in full. When he became the President of China, it was easier for me to build further relations with him, as we have already knew each other very well,” said the President.

“I thank luck for Xi Jinping to be my Chinese counterpart. I have worked with three Chinese presidents: Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and now Xi Jinping,” the Belarusian leader stressed.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, the development strategy of modern Belarus rests on the socially-oriented market economy where the state plays the key role in upgrading production and increasing labor efficiency. “It is clear that these goals cannot be achieved without technical progress, investment and cooperation with the outside world. Cooperation with the People’s Republic of China occupies an important place in this process. Sincere interest and understanding of mutual benefit helped us implement big and high-technology joint projects. Among them is the Belarusian satellite launched from China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center, modernization of electricity generating plants, reconstruction of automobile roads and electrification of railways,” the President said.