Ambassador: Belarus is the second country to reach all-weather partnership with China

Belarus is the second country that has reached an all-weather partnership with China, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to China Yuri Senko said in an interview to Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned.

“Last September in Samarkand became a very important historical moment for us when Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko together with the Chinese president made a decision to raise the relations to the level of all-weather partnership. Only Pakistan has such a level of relations with China. Belarus is the second country to reach this level of relations. We are very proud of such bilateral trust in the relations that have developed between our countries. It has given a serious impetus in all the areas,” Yuri Senko said.

A delegation from China paid a visit to Gomel to study the Belarusian rapeseed oil production practices. When asked why the partners choose Belarusian oil, having this product on their market, the ambassador noted that Belarusian rapeseed oil is no longer a novelty for both Belarus and China. “The fact that there are new buyers, new countries, regions - twin countries of our country - is a step forward, huge work performed by regulators, enterprises, and, of course, diplomacy. This is complex work that helps us increase supplies of new types of goods to the Chinese market, which sell well there. Rapeseed oil is among the top products that bring us export revenue,” he added.

As for international tourism, according to Yuri Senko, in the pre-pandemic period Belarus was among the top European countries, where Chinese tourists came with great pleasure to see the sights, taste excellent food, get recovery thanks to clean water, air and environment. “If we take China as a whole, it spent about $200 billion on foreign tourism to all countries in the pre-pandemic time. That is, Chinese tourists visit many countries with great pleasure today, and in the pandemic time we were not an exception. According to forecasts, in 2025-2030 China is expected to spend more than $600 billion on tourism. This is quite a large amount, which shows that China is more and more eager to see the world, to visit many countries, and we as an all-weather and strategic partner are the most interesting country for Chinese tourists. Travel agencies, regulators - the Sports and Tourism Ministry, the Culture Ministry, the Healthcare Ministry and other interested stakeholders - are working on joint plans to develop appropriate routes with Chinese partners, which, I am convinced, will be in very serious demand both in the direction of Belarus and China,” the Belarusian ambassador stressed.