MINSK, 17 June (BelTA) - Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Belarus Xie Xiaoyong in Minsk on 17 June, BelTA has learned.
"Belarus is proud and cherishes the good relations with the great China. Our relationship is built on the high trust, respect and interest in each other. Personal, friendly contacts between the leaders of the two countries are a solid foundation in our relations. Our relations have reached the level of a comprehensive, strategic partnership,” Natalya Kochanova stressed. “For us, China is a friendly country. We are ready to cooperate on all fronts. In 2022 we will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Chinese-Belarusian diplomatic relations, and I think we will celebrate this event with new contacts and joint projects."
The speaker of the upper house of Parliament recalled that during a video conference with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Li Zhanshu on 8 June, the parties discussed the cooperation of the two countries in economy, humanitarian affairs and between public organizations. "We formalized our proposals for cooperation and sent them through diplomatic channels to Mr. Li Zhanshu for further consideration," she added.
"Trade and economic partnership with China is very important for us. Given the western sanctions imposed on our country, we need to strengthen trade and economic cooperation more than ever. We are happy that the trade between China and Belarus rose by 28% to total almost $1.6 billion this year. This is very important for our countries," the speaker said.
Natalya Kochanova drew attention to the joint project, namely the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. She noted that on 11 June Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed decree No.215, which fine-tunes the regulatory framework in order to improve the investment climate in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. The decree gives the park's administration more independence by means of transferring additional functions from municipal authorities with regard to the implementation of administrative procedures. The decree also expands the types of business the industrial park welcomes, provides support for startups and offers preferential terms for major investment projects with the volume of investments at least as large as $50 million.
“The Council of the Republic is a body of territorial representation, so regional cooperation between our regions, cities, and provinces is of high importance to us. We are ready to contribute to this in every possible way and are interested in the implementation of China's proposals,” the head of the Council of the Republic said.
Natalya Kochanova praised the level of cooperation in healthcare. “When the pandemic hit China, Belarus provided humanitarian assistance. We are also sincerely grateful to the leadership and the people of China for the support we have been receiving since the pandemic reached our country. This assistance included medical equipment, PPEs, medicines and vaccines,” she said.
According to Xie Xiaoyong, the political, social and economic situation in Belarus has improved. “Despite the fact that the epidemic situation is still seriously affecting the world, the Belarusian economy has showed progress in the current difficult times. In January-May 2021, the Belarusian economy grew by 3.1%, which is great amid the overall global passive economic development. A huge political event - the Belarusian People's Congress - was successfully held in February and had an important result for the country. Thanks to this effective platform, you have mobilized society to unite the country for further development. Now Belarus is showing a good progress in its constitutional reform, which is important for the further sustainable development of the country in general. Being true friends of the Belarusian people, we are sincerely glad for all the successes achieved in the political, social and economic sectors,” he said addressing Natalya Kochanova.
The ambassador expressed his gratitude for the development of Belarusian-Chinese relations. “The comprehensive, trustworthy, strategic partnership between China and Belarus has been steadily developing, primarily thanks to the work of the leadership and personal care of the leaders of the two countries. Today our political mutual trust is getting stronger, and so are contacts at high and supreme levels,” he said.
