Ambassador: China sees broad prospects for cooperation with Belarus

Pragmatic cooperation between China and Belarus has broad prospects, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Belarus Xie Xiaoyong said as he addressed the 7th plenary session of the National School of Young Sinologists at the Confucius Republican Institute of Chinese Studies of Belarusian State University in Minsk on 1 March, BelTA has learned.

"Being the world's second-largest economy, China has significant assets, industrial chains, technology, management experience and market advantages," the diplomat said. "Belarus has abundant natural resources and strong industrial and agricultural capabilities."

"This has opened up great potential for cooperation between the two countries in traditional areas such as agricultural trade, industrial production, financial investment and cross-border transportation, and also in new areas such as the digital economy, green economy and traditional Chinese medicine," he said.

"In recent years, the structure of trade between China and Belarus has been optimizing, and bilateral trade has been growing steadily, reaching a record high of $8.443 billion last year. The two countries make full use of their complementary advantages, and thoroughly promote cooperation in the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative. A large number of joint projects are developing within the framework of the Chinese-Belarusian industrial park," the ambassador said.

The diplomat noted that China and Belarus have completed negotiations on the main provisions of the draft Agreement on Free Trade in Services and Investment and also started negotiations on market access, which will contribute to the further expansion of trade between the two countries, the ensuring balance of trade exchanges and the creation of new points of growth for pragmatic cooperation between the two countries.

Cooperation in agriculture between the two countries has many advantages and brings great mutual benefits. "Since the National Pavilion of Belarus launched live streams on Chinese e-commerce platforms such as JD.com and Douyin, the total number of viewers has exceeded 1.5 million. Belarusian high-quality agricultural products, such as meat, rapeseed oil and dairy products, are in increasing demand among Chinese consumers," Ambassador Xie Xiaoyong stressed.