MINSK, 30 November (BelTA) – Belarus and China's Guangdong Province intend to earmark for implementation joint projects in production sector and agribusiness. The possibility was discussed as Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Dapkiunas met with a delegation of the Guangdong Province government led by Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office Luo Jun, the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA.
The Chinese delegation is in Belarus upon the invitation of the Minsk Oblast administration. The meeting in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued the dialogue Andrei Dapkiunas began when he visited Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province, on 8 November 2018. The recent opening of Belarus' consulate general in Guangzhou was described as a welcome step in the advancement of bilateral contacts.
The sides discussed opportunities for expanding investment cooperation of Belarus with leading Chinese companies primarily from the point of view of development of the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone.
Andrei Dapkiunas and Luo Jun discussed how the government agencies of Belarus and China can help each other. The development of breakthrough Belarusian-Chinese projects for industrial and agricultural companies, travel agencies, and air carriers was mentioned. The considerable potential for Belarus' cooperation with Guangdong Province in tourism was noted. The Chinese delegation was informed about the events, which are scheduled to take place in Minsk in December 2018 in view of the end of the Year of Tourism of Belarus in China. Andrei Dapkiunas said he hopes representatives of Guangdong Province would attend the events.
Luo Jun also mentioned the interest of Chinese students in getting university education in Belarus.
Guangdong Province is home to about 120 million people. The region is a leader in the Chinese economy and accounts for one tenth of the country's GDP and one fourth of the country's export. There are three special economic zones in the province out of the five zones China has in addition to headquarters of major Chinese companies, which vigorously cooperate with Belarus. The number includes Huawei, ZTE, China Merchants Group, and Midea. Guangdong Province companies invest heavily in Belarus and represent one third of the number of Chinese companies operating in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone.
