MINSK, 29 April (BelTA) - Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Valery Mitskevich took part in a video conference with He Wei, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), to discuss the results of the two sessions held in China in March 2021 and to exchange views on the cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative. During the meeting, the parties discussed inter-parliamentary ties , and also cooperation in trade, economic, social and investment avenues, BelTA has learned
"Such events have become a good tradition. I would like to thank the Chinese Embassy in Minsk for helping organize the video conference," Valery Mitskevich said.
According to him, this year important domestic events have taken place in Belarus and China, which laid the foundation for the further social and economic development of the countries. “In February, we held the 6th Belarusian People's Congress. Two sessions of the National People's Congress and the People's Political Consultative Conference were held in Beijing in early March," the vice speaker said.
Valery Mitskevich stressed that the bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade and economy, has been steadily growing. “Thus, China has become the second largest trading partner for Belarus for the first time in history. The trade totaled $4.6 billion in 2020,” the vice speaker noted. “We are interested in increasing Belarusian export to the vast Chinese market to harmonize our trade. Belarus is among the world's major exports of butter and hard cheese. In terms of milk production per capita, Belarus has the best indicators in the world. We hope that high-quality Belarusian products will be increasingly in demand in the Chinese market, especially since more than 100 Belarusian manufacturers have been accredited to export their products to China. For our part, we will be happy to see more Chinese companies in Belarus which serves as an Eastern European outpost of the Chinese Belt and Road initiative.
Investment cooperation was discussed during the meeting as well. "We have been cooperating successfully with the Export-Import Bank of China and the Development Bank of China. Projects were implemented in the cement industry, power engineering, road construction, engineering, telecommunications, textiles and agriculture and in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone,” the vice speaker said. “Our cooperation is an example of successful implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. The joint fight against the pandemic has also become a fine moment of cooperation between China and Belarus, an example of truly friendly, non-confrontational relations. At the very beginning of the pandemic Belarus was the first to provide assistance to China and in February 2021 Belarus received 100,000 doses of the Chinese vaccine against coronavirus. We are grateful for this assistance. In my opinion, this is an example of relations to be proud of. A center of traditional Chinese medicine will be set up in the Great Stone Industrial Park. I am confident that its opening will contribute to further development of healthcare infrastructure in Belarus,” the vice speaker said.
Belarus highly appreciates China's support, including its respect of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the country. “Minsk and Beijing are consistent in their mutual support in international institutions. We intend to continue this policy,” Valery Mitskevich said.
Cooperation between inter-parliamentary organizations is also seen as promising. “An important topic for joint work in international venues is the promotion of initiatives in information security. As practice shows, digital security and information sovereignty of a state are now becoming an integral element of global security. The international community should intensify efforts to develop clear rules and algorithm of actions in this area. We have drafted a resolution on international information security and the development of the Digital Neighborhood Belt. This proposal goes in line with Beijing's efforts to launch the global initiative on data security,” said Valery Mitskevich.
“The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is ready, together with the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, to continuously develop relations between the two countries in order to further strengthen friendship and mutual understanding between our peoples so that the comprehensive strategic partnership moves forward. China and Belarus enjoy the closest contacts, strengthen political mutual trust, and continue developing practical cooperation in all areas. China has always been attaching great importance to the development of relations with Belarus and respects the path chosen by the Belarusian people in line with the realities of their country,” said He Wei, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
