ASTANA, 4 July (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with China President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on 4 July, BelTA has learned.
Xi Jinping congratulated Aleksandr Lukashenko on Belarus’ acquiring a new status within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Belarus had become a full member of the organization during the summit in Astana earlier that day.
The China president said: “Your country celebrated Independence Day yesterday. Today your country has become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. I heartily congratulate you.”
He reminded that the Belarus president visited China twice in 2023. During the negotiations the parties sketched out plans for advancing all-weather strategic partnership. Tight contacts are maintained at all levels.
“We will definitely facilitate further stable development of our relations,” Xi Jinping stated. The Chinese leader added that the parties intend to go forward in this direction by leaps and bounds.
In turn, Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked the China president and the Chinese minister of foreign affairs for the colossal support Belarus had received on the way to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization membership.
“I am very glad that you are about to become the presiding country [in 2025]. It means I will have an extra opportunity to visit the People’s Republic of China next year. I’ve noted down your initiatives that you promote in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: global security, global development, global civilization, global control of artificial intelligence. You’ve already noticed positive and negative aspects of artificial intelligence. We support all your initiatives by all means. Particularly the key initiative to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. This initiative is consonant with Brazil’s initiative,” the president noted.
After completing the main bilateral meeting involving their delegations, the leaders of Belarus and China returned to the SCO+ summit. After that they resumed one-on-one negotiations. Aleksandr Lukashenko and Xi Jinping talked at length. The Chinese minister of foreign affairs joined the conversation when necessary.
