MINSK, 10 November (BelTA) – Belarus and China intend to expand cooperation in transport and logistics, Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vladimir Ulakhovich said as he took part in the business forum “China-Belarus: trade and economic relations, cooperation prospects, investment potential”, BelTA has learned.
“The cooperation between our countries has been developing rapidly. Last year, the trade hit a record high, surpassing $4.6 billion, twice as much as 7-8 years ago. Belarus' export has noticeably grown, especially export of food products that are very popular among Chinese consumers,” Vladimir Ulakhovich noted. “This year, due to obvious reasons, we cannot boast of a high growth rate. Nevertheless, even during the pandemic we are keen to strengthen our cooperation and achieve concrete targets set by the two heads of state,” he added. According to him, the countries aim to increase trade and intensify cooperation in logistics and transport with the help of new logistic chains and new joint projects.
This year, the countries have seen development in transport, Vladimir Ulakhovich pointed out. In January-September, 673 container trains ran between Belarus and China, and 4,355 trains transited through Belarus, which was 50% up year-on-year. “The steadily growing Great Stone industrial park opens up even more opportunities by setting up enterprises of a new innovative and technological level. Another area that has been actively developing in recent years is interregional cooperation, which has a great potential for growth. We will also discuss cooperation in new technologies and innovations,” he noted.
The business forum is one of the main events for Belarus at the 3rd China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Vladimir Ulakhovich noted. “We view the forum as a means to exchange views on the cooperation development and propose new cooperation areas, projects, and opportunities that definitely exist. They are primarily based on the political dialogue of the highest level and mutual trust. This political dialogue is the result of a long joint work and is a stable platform for the development of trade and economic cooperation. China is Belarus' highly important trade and economic partner as well as a strategic partner at the global level in Eurasia. In its turn, Belarus is also China's important partner that can offer its capacities in infrastructure, logistics, technology, trade and economy,” he added.
