MINSK, 24 February (BelTA) – For China it is important to align the One Belt, One Road project with the Eurasian Economic Union, Li Yongquan, the Director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European & Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said when speaking at the international conference “The Belt and the Road: Opportunities for Belarus”, BelTA has learned.
Li Yongquan said that the One Belt, One Road initiative is a strategy which has been included in the long-term government documents of China. Every region is making plans for the future in the light of this. He also noted that the EEU is the most influential integration association in the post-Soviet space. Thus, aligning the two projects will help the states implement, by joint efforts, ambitious plans of development in the near and long term.
When speaking about the Belarusian-Chinese cooperation, Li Yongquan noted that for 25 years of the diplomatic relations the trade increased by 100 times. He drew attention to the importance of the construction of the Chinese-Belarusian industrial park Great Stone. “If there were no alignment of the One Belt, One Road with the EEU, there would be no park,” Li Yongquan stressed.
He also believes that for the successful implementation of the One Belt, One Road initiative, it is necessary to improve mutual understanding between the people of the participating countries.
The international conference was hosted by Belarusian State University. It was organized with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Belarus, the Economy Ministry, the National Academy of Sciences and the Confucius Institute for Sinology. Director of the Confucius Institute Anatoly Tozik noted that the main objective of the conference was to determine the impact of the One Belt, One Road project initiated by the Chinese leadership on the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between Belarus and China in trade, investment, science and humanitarian affairs. In his view, to get benefit from the participation in the One Belt, One Road, one must have a good knowledge and understanding of China's contemporary development, its prospects for the coming years.
The key speakers at the event were the heads of government bodies, the National Academy of Sciences, Great Stone park, scientists from Belarus, Russia and China.
